LONDON, Oct 19: Oil prices soared to another record high above $90 per barrel on Friday amid global supply jitters and tensions between Turkey and crude producer Iraq, dealers said.

New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, touched $90.07 per barrel in early afternoon deals. That beat the previous high of $90.02 set late on Thursday.

The contract later retreated to stand at $88.59, down 88 cents from Thursday’s close.

On Friday, London’s Brent North Sea crude for December delivery slid 73 cents to $83.87 after hitting a record $84.88 on Thursday.

“Persistent geopolitical fears provide good support to oil prices,” said analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov at the Sucden brokerage in London.

This week, red hot crude prices have blazed a record-breaking trail as Turkey has moved closer towards a military incursion into northern Iraq -- where many of the troubled country’s largest oil fields are based.

“The petroleum markets are seeing some short-term profit-taking,” added Citigroup analyst Tim Evans in reference to Friday’s narrow losses.

Iraq’s Kurds have vowed to fight off any attack on their region as pressure mounted in Baghdad and Washington for action against Kurdish rebels to stave off a potential Turkish incursion.

The market was also fretting over the falling US dollar. A weak greenback makes commodities priced in the US unit cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies and therefore boosts crude demand, analysts say.

Prices were “still underpinned by a weakening dollar and tight fuel supplies ahead of the winter heating season,” added Kryuchenkov.

Demand for heating fuel hits a peak during the northern hemisphere winter and supplies are widely expected to tighten.

—AFP