Oil prices extended gains above $71 a barrel this morning after a raid by Turkish troops into northern Iraq revived Middle East geopolitical concerns.
Data showing US refiners were struggling to boost summer fuel production and Cyclone Gonu's disruption of Omani oil and gas exports lent additional support to the market, keeping Brent crude within a dollar of late May's $71.80 high.
London Brent crude rose for a sixth day, climbing 25 cents to $71.27 a barrel earlier this morning after rising 57 cents yesterday. US crude rose 31 cents to $66.27.
Turkey denied a report on Wednesday it had made a major incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels, but a military source said troops had conducted a limited raid across the mountainous border, rattling markets.
Anger is mounting in Turkey over the activity of Turkish Kurdish rebels using the mountains of northern Iraq as a refuge. Northern Iraq is rich in oil, although exports via a pipeline through Turkey have been effectively halted for three years.
