Crude oil rose after the US Congress gave President George W. Bush the power to go to war against Iraq, boosting concern that shipments from the Middle East might be disrupted.
Bush said congressional support will aid his efforts to win UN backing to rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.
UK Prime Minister Tony Blair flew to Moscow yesterday in a bid to secure Russian President Vladimir Putin's support for a Security Council resolution on Iraq, which pumps about 2.5 percent of the world's oil.
The vote by US legislators "increases the chance of conflict," said Tom Bentz, an analyst and broker at BNP Paribas Futures Inc in New York. "Now we're waiting for the Security Council to agree on a strong resolution against Iraq."
Crude oil for November delivery rose US$0.40, or 1.4 percent, to US$29.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Prices, which were down 0.8 percent this week, have risen 48 percent this year.
In London, the November Brent crude-oil futures contract rose US$0.25, or 0.9 percent, at US$27.99 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange.
Security Council President Jagdish Koonjul, who is also the ambassador from Mauritius, said the votes in Congress will strengthen the US negotiating position and may hasten UN action.
The Security Council will hold a special meeting next week that will be open to all nations to discuss the Iraq situation.
The OPEC will ensure that the world has enough oil if military action against Iraq disrupts shipments, Saudi Arabia's oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, said last month. Saudi Arabia is the world's biggest oil exporter.
An explosion that crippled a French oil tanker near Yemen last Sunday also raised concern that shipments from the region might be disrupted.
Terrorists were responsible for the blast, the French Foreign Ministry said, citing the initial results of an inquiry.
Parts of a small boat were found in wreckage examined by French, Yemeni and US experts, supporting crewmembers' accounts that a bomb-laden craft hit the Limburg as it approached the port of Al-Mukalla, ministry spokesman Francois Rivasseau said yesterday.
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