record oil and atomic stand off

North Sea oil hits record price
Crude oil prices hit an all-time high in London on fears of growing tensions between Iran, a major oil exporter, and the international community.
Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in June passed $70 per barrel on fears that the US could launch military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.

Iran has pledged to carry on enriching uranium to fuel a nuclear reactor.

In the US, crude prices are within $3 of the record price hit last August when hurricanes disrupted production.

Atomic stand-off

Oil prices have surged 13% so far this year, driven mainly by concerns about supplies from Opec members Iran, Nigeria and Iraq.

Brent crude prices have been hitting record high points this week and reached the new high of $70.20 late on Thursday afternoon.

Prices were also pushed up on Thursday by news of a fall in US gasoline stockpiles.

“The general picture is that the tightening [gasoline] market and geo-political risks are underpinning further increases in crude oil, despite the very high crude inventory levels,” said Kevin Norrish, an analyst with Barclays Capital.

Iran, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, says it needs nuclear power to generate electricity, but western nations are concerned it wants to develop atomic weapons.

The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog, Mohamed ElBaradei, is in Tehran for talks aimed at defusing the stand-off.

He said he hoped to convince Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment “until outstanding issues are clarified”.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/4908330.stm

Published: 2006/04/13 18:22:55 GMT

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