March 25, 2006	Saturday	Safar 24, 1427

LONDON, March 24: World oil prices slipped on Friday after briefly soaring to almost $65 per barrel over supply concerns in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest producer of crude. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, slid 21 cents to $63.70 per barrel in pit trading.

Earlier it had reached $64.75, the highest point since February 6, owing to oil supply disruptions in Nigeria and weaker-than-expected US energy inventories, dealers said.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for May delivery slipped 24 cents to $63.03 per barrel in electronic trade, after an intra-day peak of $63.90.

Prices spiked after the Italian oil giant ENI warned customers on Friday that it might not be able to honour some export contracts after an attack on one of the firm’s Nigerian pipelines had cut off crude supplies.

—AFP