October Brent crude futures, trading on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange (SIMEX) rose to $21.48 per barrel, the highest level since October 1997.

The price level represents the latest in a succession of highs for oil, which has more than doubled in price since February as key producers -- dominated by OPEC -- tightened the taps on production.

October Brent on SIMEX was holding at $21.48 at 0800 GMT, up 15 cents from London's close on Tuesday.

However, October New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) crude futures -- on the after-hours ACCESS system -- were four cents lower at $22.07 per barrel when compared with New York's close on Tuesday.

The Saturday meeting in Caracas between oil ministers of OPEC's Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, plus non-OPEC's Mexico reinforced the view that producers would not loosen supplies until April 2000.

Traders said AmericanPetroleum Institute (API) data released late on Tuesday in New York did not provide a clear outlook for the market.

The data showed that national crude stocks rose 2.6 million barrels last week from the week earlier, when the market had expected a two-million barrel drop.

Traders attributed the rise to a decrease in refinery activity last week due to Hurricane Bret which meant less crude was processed.

At the same time, the bearish effect of the crude data was partly offset by the fact that crude stocks in the closely watched PADD 2 area in the US and home to US Benchmark West Texas Intermediate/Cuching crude declined by two million barrels.

Underlying sentiment in the market remained strong, supported by the Caracas meeting, and remarks by Saudi Arabian and Iranian officials that OPEC should base its production policies on stocks rather than crude prices.

The comments were backed up by non-OPEC Mexico on Tuesday.