Oil prices rose Thursday amid market jitters over traders' convictions that economic growth will cause energy consumption to rise, AP reported. The upward pressure came despite a U.S. report Wednesday showing a surge in inventories of gasoline and heating oil. Light, sweet crude for February delivery rose 58 cents to US$64.52 a barrel by afternoon in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Heating oil jumped nearly 2 cents to US$1.7470 a gallon (3.8 liters), while gasoline surged 2 1/2 cents to US$1.7576 a gallon. Natural gas was up less than 2 cents at US$9.254 per 1,000 cubic feet. February Brent crude rose 81 cents to US$62.98 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.