Monday, June 20 2005 09:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Singapore: World oil prices today (Jun 20, 2005) surged further into record high territory in Asian trading with the benchmark New York contract breaching $59 a barrel before easing slightly, dealers said.

At 07: 25 (IST), New York's main contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, was at $58.95 a barrel, up 43 cents from its all-time high closing price of $58.47 in the United States on Friday (Jun 17, 2005).

The contract hit a peak of $59.18 in earlier Asian trading today.

Oil prices, which had been climbing since the middle of last week, gained fresh momentum on Friday, as the market focussed on ongoing global supply worries and security concerns in OPEC-member Nigeria.

The July contract hit $58.60 a barrel on Friday, eclipsing the April 4 record of $58.28. Its eventual settling price of $58.47, the highest close on record, was up $1.89 on the day.

Daniel Hynes, a commodities analyst with ANZ bank in Melbourne, Australia, said prices were likely to break through $60 a barrel this week.

"I could see it happening over the next couple of days. It certainly has the momentum and it looks like it has the will to get over it," he said.