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

Brent North Sea crude for March delivery rose 58 cents to USD 44.40.

"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.

Wildcat strikes against foreign workers resumed at energy plants across Britain yesterday, while in the United States US oil industry representatives and union negotiators extended talks on a new contract. The threat of a nationwide strike loomed.

Snow storms brought travel chaos to Western Europe on Monday, closing London's Heathrow airport after one jet slid off a taxiway. At least five people were killed in storm incidents.

Cold weather traditionally boosts oil prices because countries ramp up their demand for heating fuel.