Global crude oil prices hit new records Wednesday, with Brent North Sea crude reaching $73.34 per barrel in London and New York's light sweet crude climbing to $71.80, driven by fears over tensions with Iran and tightening US fuel supplies.
The US Department of Energy reported that domestic gasoline stockpiles fell by 5.4 million barrels in a single week, roughly double what analysts had anticipated, rattling markets ahead of the peak summer driving season.
Concerns that Iran could disrupt oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping lane serving Japan, the United States, and Western Europe, have kept prices elevated in recent sessions. Despite the record nominal figures, prices adjusted for inflation remain below the highs recorded after the 1979 Iranian revolution, when crude reached the equivalent of $87.23 per barrel in today's money, according to Barclays Capital.
Energy risk manager Tony Nunan of Mitsubishi Corp warned the market could push toward $75 to $80 as summer approaches, with hurricane season adding another potential pressure point. Hurricane Katrina struck Gulf of Mexico oil infrastructure in late August 2005, sending prices to records at that time.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in April 2006, in its own words.