Oil prices higher in Asian trade

World oil prices rose in Asian trade today in a cautious market still confronted by weak global demand, dealers said.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for March delivery, gained 27 cents to $40.35 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for March delivery rose 58 cents to $44.40 a barrel.

"There's a fair level of caution still on the market," said Mark Pervan, senior commodities analyst for ANZ bank in Melbourne, Australia.

He said the market was buoyed partly by the impact of strikes in Britain, snowstorms in Western Europe and strike threats in the United States.