Oil prices rose this evening after a leak shut an Alaskan pipeline that carries 12% of US crude output, but gains were capped by a stronger dollar due to worries about Portugal's debt.
The Trans Alaska Pipeline was shut down on Saturday because of a leak in Prudhoe Bay, forcing oil companies to cut output to 5% of their daily average of 630,000 barrels.
The shutdown of one of the key US oil arteries sent US crude prices leaping early in Asia by almost $2 to $89.98 a barrel, although prices later eased to $89.29. Gains in Brent crude outpaced gains in US crude as it rose $1.84 to $95.14.
Iran, holder of the rotating OPEC presidency, said today it was comfortable with the rising oil price and that there was no need for any emergency OPEC meeting.
On the foreign exchange front, the euro recovered from near four-month lows against the dollar as worries about a Portugal debt crisis eased slightly.
