NEW YORK, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices surged on Tuesday in the wake of news of an explosion on a Libyan oil pipeline.

The West Texas Intermediate for February delivery increased 1.50 U.S. dollars to settle at 59.97 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February delivery rose 1.77 dollars to close at 67.02 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem