NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices rode up to new one-month peaks as traders fretted over the impact of hurricanes on US inventories, as well as the financial troubles of Russian oil giant Yukos.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light sweet crude for October delivery climbed 75 cents to close at 47.10 dollars a barrel, a one-month high.
The price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in November rose 48 cents to 43.39 dollars per barrel in London, off an intra-day high of 43.65 dollars.
Jitters emerged a day ahead of US inventory figures, expected to show steep declines as a result of hurricanes hitting the southeast.
Traders will focus on the heating-oil and crude-oil supply figures Wednesday and "if we get drastic draw downs in both, 50 dollars (a barrel) is very possible," said Kevin Kerr, a senior trader at Kwest International.
"There's still quite a bit of production shut down and there's also the continuing situation with Yukos," said Fimat USA analyst John Kilduff, noting that some 40 percent of Gulf of Mexico production remained down.
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 hundreds 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.
"The question is, have we now priced in the hurricane damage and the Yukos situation?" Kilduff said. "We've probably priced in the hurricane but the Yukos situation will worsen to the point of complete halting of output."
He added that prices appeared headed toward a test of their record levels, 49.40 dollars in New York earlier this year.
"I think we'll revisit 49.40 dollars at the very least," he said.