LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices rode up to new one-month peaks as traders sweated over the impact of hurricanes on US inventories, as well as the financial troubles of Russian oil giant Yukos.
The price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in November rose 34 cents to 43.25 dollars per barrel in late afternoon trading, off an intra-day high of 43.65 dollars
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude for October delivery advanced 35 cents to 46.70 dollars in morning deals. The contract set a new one-month peak of 47.18 dollars earlier in the day.
"There seems to be a certain nervousness ahead of (Wednesday's) inventory data," said Commerzbank analyst David Thomas.
"People are a little bit worried about the scale of disruptions last week and the inventory data will provide an indication of how bad the impact was."
Production in the Gulf of Mexico was slashed last week because of Hurricane Ivan, while the biggest US oil import terminal in Louisiana stopped unloading tankers and coastal refineries suspended operations.
Prudential Bache trader Christopher Bellew said: "People are expecting quite significant stock draws in the States following disruptions to production because of the tropical storms and hurricanes."
The US Energy Department reported last week that crude oil inventories tumbled by 7.1 million barrels to 278.6 million in the week to September 10, reaching the lowest levels in nearly seven months, largely due to bad weather.
Traders were also keeping a nervous watch on Tropical Storm Jeanne, which left more than 600 people dead in Haiti.
Another cause for concern was the ongoing woes of Yukos, which said over the weekend it was partly suspending deliveries to China.
Beijing urged Moscow Tuesday to pressure Yukos to honour its commitments to provide China with oil.
"We hope Russian government authorities can also urge the company to honour the contract," said foreign ministry spokesman Kong Quan.
Yukos blamed the move on its inability to finance transport and other costs as a result of Russian government demands for payment of back taxes.
Meanwhile, the renewed surge in oil prices in global markets was expected to be temporary, OPEC president Purnomo Yusgiantoro said.
"The rise in oil prices is attributed to Hurricane Ivan which caused a 20 percent decrease in supply to the United States. We expect this to be temporary," Yusgiantoro said.
Speaking from Jakarta, Yusgiantoro said the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries was trying to increase output to offset the surging prices.
"We hope this will have a psychological impact," he added.