Bloomberg.com: Commodities: "April 10 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose in New York on reports the U.S. is preparing plans for military strikes against Iran, increasing concern that supplies from the world's fourth- largest producer may be disrupted.
The U.S. is using the threat of attacks, which aren't likely short-term, to put pressure on Iran to comply with the United Nations' demands on its nuclear research, the Washington Post said yesterday. The U.S. wants a diplomatic solution, White House spokesman Blair Jones said on April 8. Oil is within $4 of the $70.85 a barrel record reached in August after Hurricane Katrina halted output in the Gulf of Mexico.
``If there's a real confrontation with Iran over its nuclear ambitions, that would probably put a dent in supplies for a lot longer'' than last year's hurricanes, said Tobin Gorey, analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.
Crude oil for May delivery rose as much as 41 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $67.80 a barrel, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $67.73 at 2:33 p.m. in Singapore, 26 percent higher than a year ago.
Oil has risen in the past four weeks because of output disruption in Nigeria and concern Iran may halt oil shipments should the United Nations impose sanctions.
The U.S. is weighing using air strikes and tactical nuclear arms on Iran to destroy the country's alleged atomic weapons program and bring down President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, the New Yorker magazine reported, citing interviews with unidentified military and intelligence officials.
Military Options
Oil reached a post-Katrina high of $69.20 on Jan. 23 after Iran said it would resist any moves by the U.K., U.S., France and Germany to refer the dispute over nuclear research to the UN Security Council.
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