April 23, 2008	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 16, 1429

LONDON, April 22: Oil prices rocketed to historic highs above $118 on Tuesday, lifted by the tumbling dollar, unrest in Nigeria and Opec’s reluctance to increase output, traders said.

New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, jumped to an all-time high of $118.45.

At the same time, London’s Brent North Sea crude for June hit a record $115.53 a barrel.

“For the moment, there does not seem to be anything stopping the price juggernaut we are seeing in energy,” said MF Global analyst Ed Meir.

The weak US currency makes dollar-priced commodities like oil cheaper for foreign buyers and therefore tends to encourage demand.

“The oil market is still fairly tight, with Opec reluctant to hike output, blaming speculators and the broad weakness in the dollar for driving prices higher,” said Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.

Global supply tensions were also stoked on Tuesday after Anglo-Dutch oil group Royal Dutch Shell reported an output loss of 169,000 barrels per day (bpd) after the sabotage of its key pipelines in southern Nigeria.—AFP