NEW YORK, Nov. 5 (Xinhuanet) -- Crude oil prices rebounded Friday after declining over the past week as traders worried about supply disruptions in Iraq and Nigeria.

    On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for December delivery rose 79 cents to settle at 49.61 dollars per barrel. Meanwhile, on London's International Petroleum Exchange the December Brent crude-oil futures contract climbed 41 cents to close at 46.42 dollars a barrel.

    On Friday, saboteurs in Iraq set off an explosion that damaged a gas pipeline in the country, while Nigerian oil workers decided to join a general strike scheduled for November 16. These factors,combined with the legal conflict between Yukos and Russian government, pushed oil prices higher.

    However, most analysts expected a downtrend in oil prices for the next week because rising production and slowing demand growth would boost inventories. Enditem