Oil at new high, surges past $92 in Asian trade
Crude oil rose past $92 per barrel in Asian trade to a new record on rising tension in the Middle East and new US sanctions against Iran.
By Agencies |
SINGAPORE: Crude oil rose past $92 per barrel in Asian trade on Friday to a new record on rising tension in the Middle East and new US sanctions against Iran, dealers said.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, touched a new all-time intra-day high of $92.22 per barrel. By 3:30 pm (0730 GMT) it had fallen back slightly but had still soared $1.50 to $91.96 from its close at $90.46 in late US trades.
Brent North Sea crude struck an intra-day high of $89.30, also breaking records set overnight. By 3:30 pm the contract for December was up 1.47 dollars on the day to $88.95.
"Now that oil is in the 90s, it is much easier to reach $100. Anything can happen in this market," said Tetsu Emori, a fund manager with Astmax in Tokyo.
He said OPEC hesitance to increase production and rising tensions in the Middle East were helping fuel price volatility.
"Shipping companies are saying that OPEC exports of crude oil are lower than they had expected. This is another factor pushing up prices at the moment," he said.
Oil prices are "being supported by an increase in geopolitical tensions and also market developments," Australia's Commonwealth Bank said in a market commentary.
It cited fresh US sanctions on Iran, which targetted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Three Iranian state-owned banks were also blacklisted, along with firms controlled by the corps and the logistics arm of Iran's defence ministry, in a move aimed at squeezing Iran out of global banking.
The sanctions escalated tensions over oil-producing Iran's nuclear drive and alleged backing for terrorism.
"Oil markets also continued to have an eye on developments related to the current tensions between Turkey and Kurd rebels in Iraq," Commonwealth Bank said.
On Thursday, Turkish leaders lent extra weight to their threat of a military incursion against Kurdish separatists holed up in northern Iraq. Many of Iraq's oil fields are located in the north and any conflict with Turkey could disrupt supplies, analysts said.
Emori and Commonwealth Bank said the market was also reacting to a sharp decline in US energy inventories last week which came ahead of the northern hemisphere winter, when demand for heating fuel peaks.
US energy supplies are closely monitored because the country is the world's biggest energy consumer.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, touched a new all-time intra-day high of $92.22 per barrel. By 3:30 pm (0730 GMT) it had fallen back slightly but had still soared $1.50 to $91.96 from its close at $90.46 in late US trades.
Brent North Sea crude struck an intra-day high of $89.30, also breaking records set overnight. By 3:30 pm the contract for December was up 1.47 dollars on the day to $88.95.
"Now that oil is in the 90s, it is much easier to reach $100. Anything can happen in this market," said Tetsu Emori, a fund manager with Astmax in Tokyo.
He said OPEC hesitance to increase production and rising tensions in the Middle East were helping fuel price volatility.
"Shipping companies are saying that OPEC exports of crude oil are lower than they had expected. This is another factor pushing up prices at the moment," he said.
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Oil prices are "being supported by an increase in geopolitical tensions and also market developments," Australia's Commonwealth Bank said in a market commentary.
It cited fresh US sanctions on Iran, which targetted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Three Iranian state-owned banks were also blacklisted, along with firms controlled by the corps and the logistics arm of Iran's defence ministry, in a move aimed at squeezing Iran out of global banking.
The sanctions escalated tensions over oil-producing Iran's nuclear drive and alleged backing for terrorism.
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"Oil markets also continued to have an eye on developments related to the current tensions between Turkey and Kurd rebels in Iraq," Commonwealth Bank said.
On Thursday, Turkish leaders lent extra weight to their threat of a military incursion against Kurdish separatists holed up in northern Iraq. Many of Iraq's oil fields are located in the north and any conflict with Turkey could disrupt supplies, analysts said.
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Emori and Commonwealth Bank said the market was also reacting to a sharp decline in US energy inventories last week which came ahead of the northern hemisphere winter, when demand for heating fuel peaks.
US energy supplies are closely monitored because the country is the world's biggest energy consumer.
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