The price of crude oil has risen above $45 a barrel on the New York market for the first time on record.
The price increase is being linked to violence in Iraq which has disrupted supplies.
Yesterday, supporters of the radical Iraqi cleric, Moqtada al-Sadr, destroyed the main oil pipeline that runs from the oilfields in southern Iraq to two offshore terminals in the Gulf.
So far this year oil prices have soared by more than 30%.
