Oil prices rose for a fourth day today to nearing a fresh 2007 high above $61 a barrel as world powers prepared to consider tightening UN sanctions against Iran.
US crude was trading 29 cents higher at $61.43 a barrel this morning, adding to a more than $2 a barrel rally built on an unexpectedly deep decline in US fuel stocks and pipeline and refinery glitches, on top of the growing geopoliticial concerns.
London's Brent crude was up 36 cents.
Friday's $61.80 peak was the highest price since December 26th, marking a complete recovery from the early-January slump that knocked oil to a 20-month low of $49.90 a barrel amid exceptionally warm US weather and a lack of fund buying.
The rebound has been supported by gradually tightening fundamentals, and by the revival of concerns over a possible disruption of Iran's oil supplies after the latest UN deadline for Tehran to halt its nuclear programme came and went unheeded.
Officials from the UN Security Council plus Germany will meet in London later today to consider possible further steps after limited sanctions were imposed on Tehran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, in December, although some analysts said further price gains may not follow.
The rhetoric increased up at the weekend, with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad saying its nuclear programme has "no brake and no reverse gear". US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Iran needed a "stop button".
