Oil prices were higher in Asian trade on Thursday, with New York crude holding above $71 a barrel following a sharp fall in US crude reserves and amid continued unrest in Iran and Nigeria.

New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, gained 15 cents to $71.18 a barrel.

Brent North Sea crude for August delivery was up one cent to $70.86.

Analysts said the sharp decline in crude inventories showed energy demand was picking up in the United States, the world's biggest energy consumer.

The weekly US Department of Energy (DoE) report released on Wednesday showed crude stockpiles falling for the second week running, by 3.9 million barrels, far sharper than analysts' predictions.

However, prices were weighed down by the bigger-than-expected rise in gasoline stocks, which indicated poor petrol uptake at a time of the year when Americans take to the roads in large numbers for their summer holidays.

Gasoline stocks rose 3.4 million barrels last week, the US government's Energy Information Administration said, topping analysts' consensus forecast for an increase of 300,000 barrels.