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Asian oil prices pierce US$55 level

World oil prices climbed to record highs above US$55 dollars a barrel in Asian trade yesterday as supply concerns that have driven the market all year continued to dominate the market, dealers said.

At 3:40pm, New York's main light sweet crude contract for November delivery was at US$55.30 a barrel, up from the close in New York on Friday of US$54.93.

The contract hit an intra-day high of US$55.33. The previous record was US$55 seen during Friday trade in New York.

Traders and industry analysts said data released last week showing commercial heating oil supplies were dropping in the US was still having a slight impact on rising global prices.

But they said a continuation of the wide range of supply factors that have seen oil prices surge nearly 70 percent this year were the fundamental reasons for the new spike in Asian trade.

"I don't think there's anything in particular that has really driven prices up today," said Daniel Hynes, an oil industry analyst with ANZ Bank in Australia.

Gerard Rigby, Singapore-based deputy head of trading for China Aviation Oil, agreed the rise in prices at the start of the week was due to the general shortage of supplies.

Crude oil prices have soared this year on concerns that producers are pumping at almost full capacity to meet voracious global demand, particularly from China and India.

Rigby said factors currently leading market sentiment were the low stocks of heating oil in the US and Europe before the northern winter, as well as production in the Gulf of Mexico still being down 462,000 barrels per day due to last month's Hurricane Ivan.

With no major easing of the supply shortage foreseeable, Rigby said prices would continue to climb toward US$60 and higher.
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