US crude oil prices hit $70 today, the highest level for nearly eight months, as Iran's pursuit of its nuclear programme heightened fears the US might take military action against the oil-producing nation.
US light sweet crude was trading 45 cents higher at $69.75 by 11.10 GMT, off a session high of $70.
The session peak was the highest since Hurricane Katrina battered oil infrastructure in the US Gulf Coast and drove US crude to a record of $70.85 on August 30 last year.
London's Brent crude today rose 54 cents to $71.11 after touching a new record-high of $71.40.
"The drama over Iran's face-off with the West, the rise of insurgency in Nigeria and gasoline supply concerns in the US ahead of the driving season are keeping a high floor under oil," said Victor Shum at consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
Former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said today Iran would continue to enrich uranium following its announcement last week it had enriched uranium for use in power stations.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran does not intend to stop," he told reporters in Kuwait during a visit to the Gulf state.
The West suspects the nation is trying to build an atomic bomb and talk of a US attack has topped the international news agenda since a report in the New Yorker magazine this month said Washington was considering using tactical nuclear weapons to knock out Iran's subterranean nuclear sites.
Fear of possible disruption of supplies from Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, have helped to drive the price of US crude 20 per cent higher since mid-February.