Price of oil hits 14-year high
Oil futures, traded in New York, hit $40 amid further concerns about the security situation in Iraq and the fear that the recent surge in violence in the country will destabilise production. Iraq holds the world's second largest proven oil reserves.
US light crude prices have been soaring in the past year and yesterday hit their highest since October 1990 the height of the first Gulf War. It later eased to $39.58, 21 cents higher on the day. In London, the June Brent crude-oil futures contract was up 37 cents, or 1%, at $36.90 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange. Brent oil reached $37.20 yesterday.
