Oil prices leaped more than a dollar on Friday on renewed concern over tight supplies of distillate fuels in Europe and the United States ahead of the northern hemisphere winter. U.S. light, sweet crude gained $1.53 to $47.75 a barrel, stemming a decline that has dragged prices down $8 from record highs since late October. London IPE Brent jumped $1.48 or three percent to $44.20 a barrel. Friday's jump renewed a rally that has added 45 percent to prices this year as rising world fuel demand strains supplies of refined products such as gasoline, diesel fuel and heating oil. Dealers are concerned about the adequacy of heating oil inventories, which are significantly below last year's levels in the top markets of the United States, Germany and Japan. U.S. supplies are 16 percent less than year-ago figures. London IPE gas oil, used as a basis to price distillates such as heating oil, added $23.25 or over five percent from the previous day's settlement to $447.00 a tonne. Gas oil has gained $47 a tonne -- more than 11 percent -- in the last four trading sessions, dragging up refining profits and spurring physical oil buying to staunch a three and a half week slide on crude futures. --More 2043 Local Time 1743 GMT
