Oil prices pushed above $61 a barrel on Wednesday to touch a new six-month high on bullish inventory data and a spate of refinery accidents in the United States, in spite of weak market fundamentals. Fire struck gasoline making units at two U.S. refineries this week, triggering a roughly 8 percent spike in U.S. gasoline futures that will likely filter through to retail pumps just as the summer driving season begins. [ID:nN19450038] U.S. crude CLc1 rose $1.24 to $61.34 a barrel by 1324 GMT after briefly touching $61.45, and London Brent LCOc1 rose $1.04 to $59.96. "It's all on the back of those refinery glitches and some Nigerian scuffle," said Rob Montefusco, an oil trader at Sucden Financial in London. "All the economic data out this morning has been terrible, but if you strip it back, it's RBOB-led." Reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygen blending, or RBOB RBc1, was trading at $1.8480 a gallon, up 2.39 percent on the day and its highest level since October 16, 2008. Unrest in OPEC member Nigeria, Africa's top oil and gas exporter, also drove up prices this week. Security forces clashed with militants on Tuesday near an oil flow station operated by Chevron (CVX.N) in the western Niger Delta. Italy's biggest oil and gas company ENI SpA (ENI.MI) on Wednesday declared force majeure for its Brass River export terminal in Nigeria, adding its output affected so far was 9,000 barrels per day. [ID:nMAT009592]

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