The price of London Brent crude oil today rocketed above $81 a barrel for the first time owing to concerns over stretched global energy supplies, traders said.
Brent earlier raced to an historic peak of $81.05 and later this afternoon stood at $80.95 per barrel, up 92 cents.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude jumped 78 cents to $83.20 per barrel - not far off its record of $84.10 set last week.
Prices spiked by more than $2.5 yesterday, with London smashing through $80 for the first ever time owing to stormy weather in the rig-heavy Gulf of Mexico.
Traders today said investment funds weighed into the market, encouraged also by the weak US dollar and expectations for strong crude demand.
The sliding dollar has also buoyed oil prices. A weak US unit makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper for buyers with stronger currencies and therefore encourages demand.
Demand for heating fuel hits a peak in the forthcoming northern hemisphere winter.
Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Lorenzo strengthened into a hurricane and slammed ashore early today along one of Mexico's oil producing regions, the US National Hurricane Center said.
The Gulf of Mexico is a leading oil-producing region for the United States and Mexico and investors are worried that, during the long Atlantic hurricane season that ends in November, a storm will damage oil rigs and other infrastructure.
