Crude oil prices surged above 62 US dollars a barrel Tuesday amid concerns over a cold winter that may snap the US northeast.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, jumped 2.12 dollars to close at 62.44 dollars a barrel.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for December delivery rallied 2.00 dollars to 60.24 dollars per barrel in closing deals.

Heating oil for November delivery rose more than nine cents to settle at 1.8899 dollars a gallon, while November gasoline rose more than seven cents to 1.6538 dollars a gallon. November natural gas rose 1.334 dollars to 14.338 dollars per million British thermal units.

The market remains sensitive to any shift in demand or supply and any unusually cold weather could increase demand for heating oil analysts said.

The federal Minerals Management Service said Tuesday that 69 percent of daily oil production and 56 percent of daily natural gas production remains off-line in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

A weekly inventory report due Wednesday by the United States is expected to show crude stocks rose last week, boosted by increased imports and refineries that were still operating at a relatively low rate.