Petrol price worries follow US oil news

Fresh worries over pump prices emerged tonight after the cost of a barrel of oil rose reached 73 US dollars a barrel in New York.

The latest increase, which followed a period of recent stability for energy prices, came after Iran’s supreme leader warned that oil supplies could be jeopardised if the West makes the “wrong move” over Iran’s nuclear policy.

Iran is the fourth-largest oil exporter and has the second-largest reserves in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The latest uplift followed a previous rise on Friday after eight oil workers were kidnapped in Nigeria. The workers were released on Sunday.

OPEC President Edmund Daukoru, who is also Nigeria’s petroleum minister, has called on the international community to work together to solve the geopolitical problems that have raised oil prices.

Tension between Iran and the West over Tehran’s nuclear development has been a major reason for rising oil prices in recent months.

The latest increase came after Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Western leaders in a speech on Sunday “if you make any mistake (punish or attack Iran), definitely shipment of energy from this region will be seriously jeopardised”.

He said that the US and its allies would be unable to secure oil shipments passing out of the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

Victor Shum, an oil analyst in Singapore, said: “The price surge is a knee-jerk reaction to the remarks made by Iran’s supreme leader.”

He noted, though, that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had indicated a breakthrough in talks was possible, but had rejected preconditions to the talks.

The West has threatened the country with economic sanctions unless it curbs its nuclear ambitions while the UN Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment programme.

But Iran has so far refused to back down, saying the project is for research and not for development of nuclear weapons.