Oil edging towards US$100pb

Singapore, 2007 Nov 7, Press TV 
 
Oil prices have climbed to new record highs of over $98 amid concerns about a decline in US supplies and severe cold in the North Sea.

Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose as high as $98.03 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.

Oil prices were high even before news of an attack on a Yemeni oil pipeline, which disrupted the transfer of 155,000 barrels of oil, and a blast in northern Afghanistan that led to the death of 64 people.

However, these incidents coupled with falling temperatures in the North Sea and the steep decline in US dollar have contributed to soaring oil prices.

Investors are also concerned about a drop in US crude supplies. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires predict, on average, crude oil inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels last week.

"The oil market sentiment remains bullish ... there is an overall upward trend toward the $100 level,'' said Victor Shum, an energy analyst in Singapore.