US oil prices and Brent crude shot up to all-time highs today amid tensions in the Middle East and worries over energy supply shortages ahead of the northern hemisphere winter.
US crude for December rose to a record-peak of $92.22 a barrel and was at $91.89 earlier this morning, up $1.48.
Prices were up about 50 per cent from the start of the year, spurred by strong demand for oil in the United States and China, a weak US dollar, investment flows from pension and hedge funds into commodities and oil, political tensions and Opec supply restraint for most of this year.
London Brent crude also hit a fresh all-time high of $89.30.
Oil, which was falling at the start of the week on concerns about the strength of the US economy, has rallied since US data on Wednesday showed a larger-than-expected 5.3-million barrel drawdown in US crude inventories.
The sharp fall in crude stocks, combined with fresh signs that Opec will shrug off calls for additional oil from big consumer nations, has exacerbated fears of a possible supply squeeze in the winter.