* Nigerian militants attack Shell pipeline
* Wall Street ralliess on economic optimism
* Oil to average $70 a barrel in 2010 - poll
* U.S. GDP shrinks slightly less in Q1 than first thought
(Updates prices, details)
By David Sheppard
LONDON, June 25 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose more than $2 to
near $71 a barrel on Thursday after Nigerian rebels attacked a
Royal Dutch Shell <RDSa.L> pipeline, raising worries about
supply from the OPEC-member nation.
Crude also got a lift as Wall Street rallied on hopes for
an economic recovery and as gasoline futures rebounded heading
into the peak of the U.S. summer driving season.
U.S. crude futures <CLc1> for August rose $2.18 to $70.85 a
barrel by 1730 GMT. London Brent crude <LCOc1> rose $2.09 to
$70.42 a barrel.
In the latest in a string of attacks in Nigeria, Africa's
biggest oil producer, the Movement for the Emancipation of the
Niger Delta (MEND), said it had sabotaged the Billie-Krakama
pipeline in Rivers State, which supplies one of the country's
main export terminals. []
Attacks by MEND have forced foreign oil companies,
including U.S. oil major Chevron <CVX.N> and Italy's Agip
<ENI.MI>, to shut at least 133,000 barrels per day of oil
production in the last month. []
Shell said it had shut down one of its pipeline junction
points on Thursday but declined to say whether any oil
production had been affected.
"Nigeria's MEND rebels have escalated their activities
recently and are certainly a supportive influence (to oil
prices)," Mike Fitzpatrick, vice president at MF Global in New
York, said in a research note.
The gains came alonside a roughly 2 percent rally on Wall
Street fueled by optimism that the recession is easing [] --
a prospect that could spell higher global energy demand.
Oil prices also got a boost from a rebound in gasoline
futures ahead of the July 4 holiday -- typically one of the
busiest driving holidays of the year.
On Wednesday, U.S. government data showed stocks of
gasoline in the world's largest energy consumer rose 3.9
million barrels last week, exceeding analysts' predictions. But
inventories of the motor fuel remain roughly equal to where
they were last year, providing little cushion if motorists hit
the roads hard during the vacation season.
Auto and travel group AAA said in a survey report this week
July 4 road travel would be down 1.9 percent due to the effects
of the recession.
Stocks of distillates such as diesel and heating oil,
meanwhile, have risen to 10-year highs due to the recession.
ECONOMY UNCERTAIN
Crude prices have more than doubled since the lows near $30
a barrel plumbed last winter, on hopes for an economic
recovery. A Reuters poll of industry analysts showed oil prices
are expected to average more than $70 a barrel in 2010,
compared with the latest forecast average of $56.59 for this
year. []
The U.S. economy shrank slightly less in early 2009 than
previously thought, the government reported on Thursday, though
there was widespread weakness in activity and demand was soft.
Gross domestic product dropped 5.5 percent in the first
quarter, from 6.3 percent in the last quarter of 2008.
Separately, the Labor Department said the number of workers
filing new claims for jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last
week by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 627,000 -- a measure of
the strain still faced by hard-pressed consumers.
(Additional reporting by Richard Valdmanis in New York and
Ramthan Hussain in Singapore; Editing by Christian Wiessner)
