LONDON (Agencies): Oil leapt $5 to a new record high near $147 a barrel Friday, spurred by growing worries of threats to supplies from Iran and Nigeria and the possibility of a strike by Brazilian oil workers next week.
US crude was $4.85 at $146.50 a barrel by 9:15 a.m. EDT, off highs of $146.90, taking gains in just two sessions to over $10. It rose $5.60 or 4 percent a barrel on Thursday in a late burst of buying activity.
London Brent crude was up $4.74 at $146.77 a barrel.
Analysts said the threat of supply disruptions provided the bullish backdrop, as the demand picture was unlikely to change much until after the Beijing Olympics.
"We continue to believe that the downside risk to oil prices remains relatively low until the non-OECD countries begin to show greater price and income elasticity response than has been evident to date," Deutsche Bank analyst Adam Sieminski said in a note.
Oil, which had been on the retreat for much of the week, reversed course on Thursday as fears of supply disruptions from potential hot spots, OPEC members Iran and Nigeria, resurfaced.
Israeli war planes are conducting maneuvers in Iraqi airspace and using US airbases in the country, possibly practicing for a strike against Iran, the newspaper reported, citing comments by Iraqi officials in local media.
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev denied the report.
Iran, OPEC's second biggest producer, this week tested missiles capable of reaching Israel.
Meanwhile another report from United Nations adds, UN chief Ban Ki-moon issued a fresh appeal for Iran to suspend nuclear enrichment work as Washington warned Tehran to cease its "provocative" missile tests.
"I have been calling on Iranian authorities to fully comply with all relevant Security Council resolutions and continue their negotiations with European Union and concerned parties," Ban said Thursday on his return from a two-week, three-nation Asian tour.
Iran has threatened to strike back at Tel Aviv as well as US interests in a key oil shipping route if it is attacked over its nuclear programme, which Israel and the West fears is aimed at making nuclear weapons.
The US said it was ready to defend its allies.
Brent crude oil for August settlement rose as much as $5.22 a barrel, or 3.7 per cent, to $147.25 a barrel and was trading at $146.94 at 1:46 p.m. local time on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange.
Meanwhile another report from Vienna adds, OPEC yesterday cut its long-term estimate for world oil demand, saying consumption by 2030 would be 3.7 per cent lower than previously forecast as soaring prices drive efforts to save energy.
Oil prices hit record highs of just below 147 dollars last week and have more than doubled in the past year, driving efforts to improve energy efficiency and seek alternative sources of power.
In its annual World Oil Outlook, released Thursday, OPEC forecast that world oil demand would amount to 113.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2030, rather than the 117.6 million bpd predicted a year ago.
Meanwhile, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main militant group in Nigeria's oil-producing region, said it was abandoning a ceasefire to protest against a British offer to help tackle lawlessness in the region.
Rebel attacks on oil infrastructure in Nigeria, the world's eighth-biggest exporter, have also been partly responsible for the nearly 50 percent rise in prices this year.
Investors have also flocked to oil and other commodities this year as a hedge against rising inflation and a weak dollar.
Workers at Brazil's Petrobras threatened to launch a five-day strike next week that would affect all 42 Campos basin offshore platforms, which account for more than 80 percent of daily oil output of around 1.8 million barrels.
Oil has continued rising despite efforts by top exporter Saudi Arabia to raise production to its highest rate in three decades in an effort to tame oil prices.
Qatar Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah told Reuters on Friday that he saw no demand for the additional crude that Saudi Arabia had pledged to pump.
The standoff has led to concern that Iran may come under attack from the US or Israel, disrupting exports from OPEC's second-biggest producer.
``You could survive with one of these factors, but if they come all at the same time it will drive prices up,'' said Thina Saltvedt, an analyst at Nordea Bank AB in Oslo. ``As soon as violent attacks increase in Nigeria it is a threat to production.''
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said attacks will resume on oil facilities. The Nigerian militant group said it will call off its unilateral cease-fire beginning midnight on July 12.
MEND's attacks on pipelines and other installations have cut more than 20 per cent of Nigeria's oil exports since 2006. MEND says it is fighting for a greater share of oil wealth for the impoverished inhabitants of the Niger Delta.
The group declared a cease-fire after a June 19 attack on Royal Dutch Shell Plc's Bonga deep-water oilfield, located 120 kilometers (75 miles) offshore that cut 190,000 barrels a day of oil output.
