Price of oil nears two-year high

WORLD oil prices rebounded yesterday towards two-year highs as the US said it had massed enough troops in the Gulf to attack Iraq, the world’s eighth largest oil exporter.

Futures traders were briefly spooked by an explosion on a fuel barge at an oil terminal in New York, but officials said it was an accident.

International benchmark Brent crude oil rose 65 cents to $32.21 a barrel, versus a two-year high of $33.10 hit last week. US crude futures climbed 72c to $35.46.