Oil prices climbed by nearly $1 a barrel to a three-month high today, as mounting tension over Iran's nuclear ambitions stoked fears of supply disruption from the world's fourth biggest crude exporter.
US crude oil futures were trading 76 cents higher at $64.70, just off a session high of $64.90, which was the highest level since early October. London Brent crude rose 89 cents to $63.06.
The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany, meeting in Berlin, said talks with Iran had reached a dead end and agreed it should be hauled before the UN Security Council over its nuclear programme.
Iran has said it aims only to develop a civilian nuclear power programme, but the international community suspects it is seeking to develop an atomic bomb. Analysts fear that if UN sanctions are imposed, it could slow investment in Iran's ageing oilfields and that Tehran, in retaliation, might cut off its oil supplies.
If Iran halted exports of around 2.4 million barrels per day, the rest of the world's spare capacity would not be able to make up the shortfall.
Oil traders are also nervous about the situation in Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter, where twin attacks on Royal Dutch Shell oil facilities cut output by 10%.
