Oil prices jumped past $123 today for the first time since late 2008 as traders mulled the outlook for supplies amid unrest in Libya, and as they digested the latest snapshot of US energy stocks.
Brent crude reached $123.37 a barrel - the highest level since early August 2008. Brent North Sea for delivery in May later stood at $122.56, up 33 cents compared with yesterday's close.
New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or light sweet crude for May, hit $109.15 - a level last seen in September 2008. It later stood at $108.81 a barrel, up 41 cents.
'Brent crude oil continued its rally as the political turmoil in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain raised further concerns about oil supplies in the area,' analysts said.
Meanwhile, the US government's Department of Energy said today that US crude stockpiles rose by two million barrels last week. Analysts had forecast a slightly smaller increase. The weekly data is closely watched as the US is the world's biggest consumer of oil.
Traders' eyes were also on Libya, whose oil exports have ground to a halt due to the violent unrest there. In the rebel-held east of the country, a tanker left the Libyan port of Tobruk today carrying the first consignment of oil since the rebel government won recognition from some countries, reports said.
The Greek-owned, Liberian-registered tanker left a terminal near Tobruk, 80 miles from the Egyptian border. It had docked a day earlier in order to load Libyan crude worth up to $100ms, the first such exports since international coaltion air strikes began on March 19 and destined to finance the rebel fight against leader Moamer Gaddafi's forces.
As it suffers from fuel shortages, Kadhafi's government has imported 19,000 tonnes of petrol, a source close to the state oil company said today. Most of the service stations in Tripoli are closed due to a lack of supplies.
