The price of US crude oil has surged to a new record high of $113.93 a barrel, boosted by a weak US currency and tightening energy supplies.
The latest rise also came after news that the crude-producing cartel OPEC had left its 2008 estimate of growth in world oil demand unchanged.
After hitting the new record, US crude this evening stood at $113.81, up $2.05 from Monday's close. London's Brent North Sea crude struck its own record high of $112.08, before easing back to $111.70, up $1.86.
The latest move came as one of Russia's top energy executives said the country's oil production has peaked and may never return to current levels.
Leonid Fedun, the 52-year-old vice-president of Lukoil, Russia's largest independent oil company, told the Financial Times he believed last year's Russian oil production of about 10 million barrels a day was the highest he would see 'in his lifetime'. Russia is the world's second biggest oil producer.
Meanwhile, OPEC argued that while high prices and slowing economies would affect demand in major industrialised countries, appetite for crude would remain robust elsewhere.
The cartel, which pumps 40% of global crude supplies, added that soaring prices reflected high volatility in the market. But it blamed this on factors such as financial market turmoil, the weaker dollar and a worsening outlook for the US economy.
The weakening US currency encourages demand for dollar-priced crude because it becomes more affordable for foreign buyers.
