May 03, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 26, 1429

LONDON, May 2: The price of oil climbed back towards $114 on Friday on news that Turkish planes had bombed Kurdish rebel hideouts in oil-rich Iraq overnight, analysts said.

Prices were surging at the end of a volatile week in which crude struck a record high of almost $120 before sliding on profit-taking.

On Friday, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, rallied $1.30 to $113.82 per barrel. New York crude had struck a record high $119.93 on Monday.

London’s Brent North Sea crude for June jumped by $1.61 per barrel to $112.11 on Friday. The contract had hit an all-time peak of 117.56 per barrel on April 25.

Oil futures advanced Friday “as news broke that Turkey has launched air strikes in north Iraq,” said Sucden analyst Michael Davies.

The past week, meanwhile, has been a roller-coaster ride. On Thursday, prices slipped to $111 after a strike ended in key crude producer Nigeria and as the

US currency continued to strengthen. —AFP