NEW YORK, Sept 27 (AFP) - Crude oil futures opened at all-time record highs in New York Monday, up 67 cents to 49.55 dollars a barrel as unrest in oil producers Nigeria and Saudi Arabia stoked supply worries.
The contract for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange topped the previous record peak of 49.40 dollar per barrel reached on August 20.
Prices had risen as high as 49.74 dollars a barrel in pre-opening electronic deals.
The new summits came after two oil majors in Nigeria evacuated non-essential workers from the troubled Niger Delta oil region and as police clashed with suspected Islamic militants in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh at the weekend.
The price of reference Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in November meanwhile rose 92 cents to hit a record peak of 46.25 dollars in London.
"News of new pipeline damage in Iraq, trouble in Nigeria, and fighting between security forces and al-Qaeda members in Saudi Arabia have all pushed prices to a new high on Brent," said Rob Laughlin, director of trading at GNI-Man Financial.
Continued attacks on Iraqi oil infrastructure have also heightened the potential for a supply disruption in the Middle East, Sucden analysts said.
"Any news that threatens supplies at a time when there are concerns over US inventories will cause prices to go skywards," said Prudential Bache broker Christopher Bellew.
Looking to the US, Laughlin said, "although tropical storm Jeanne has not caused damage to the US oil producing area, there is not much relief as demand for oil is still strong."