Oil prices rose back above $83 a barrel in Asian trade Friday.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose 36 cents to $83.24 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by late morning in Singapore.
The Nymex crude contract jumped $2.58 Thursday to settle at $82.88 a barrel during the floor session.
The price gains have put the front-month contract back near the record levels hit late last week by the October contract on the day it expired. Last Friday the October contract hit $83.90 a barrel before it settled at a record close of U$83.32 a barrel.
Tensions between the United States and Iran have raised in traders' minds the possibility of disruption of Middle East oil supplies, analysts said.
The United States is trying to raise support for new UN sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programmes. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the nuclear issue is "closed," and he has vowed to defy any UN sanctions.
Also stoking concerns about crude supplies was a slight decline in oil inventories at the Nymex crude delivery point of Cushing, Oklahoma, last week.
AP