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Oil prices reach new record high | Oil prices reach new record high |
(about 3 hours later) | |
The price of oil has continued to climb - with Brent crude rising above $145 a barrel for the first time. | |
London Brent crude rose by $1.50 to $145.75 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading. US light, sweet crude rose by more than $1 to $144.57. | |
The rises follow earlier highs recorded in London and New York after the US government announced its oil stockpiles fell by more than expected last week. | |
Global oil prices have doubled in the past year. | |
A combination of the weak US dollar, higher demand and concerns about supply disruptions in the Middle East and Africa have forced prices up. | |
"The current market is being driven by the weaker dollar and with the equity markets a disaster, investment money is looking for a more profitable market," said Tetsu Emori, a Tokyo-based fund manager. | |
The dollar traded at its lowest level against the euro for more than two months, falling to $1.5891 per euro. | |
A weaker dollar makes oil a more attractive investment. | |
Tensions | |
Oil prices are expected to rise further if the European Central Bank raises interest rates later on Thursday. | |
The president of the Opec oil producers' cartel, Dr Chakib Khelil, told the BBC on Wednesday that a rise in eurozone rates would weaken the dollar further, and would cause oil prices to rise. | |
The latest increase in the price of crude oil also comes amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran. | |
Iran would respond "fiercely" to any attack against it, Iranian oil minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said on the sidelines of the World Petroleum Congress in Madrid. | |
However, the minister said that Tehran would not cut oil deliveries and would continue supplying the market even if struck by Israel or the United States. | |
Top officials have been discussing measures to combat high prices and to increase long-term supplies at the meeting in the Spanish capital. | Top officials have been discussing measures to combat high prices and to increase long-term supplies at the meeting in the Spanish capital. |