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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT size=3><STRONG>Oil rises above
$US71</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV id=promoTopRight>From: Agence France-Presse </DIV>
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<DIV id=storyAuthorName>From correspondents in New York</DIV><BR>April 18, 2006
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<P class=storyBodyInitial>OIL prices broke new ground above $US71 a barrel today
on mounting tensions over Iran's nuclear ambitions and rapid economic growth in
China, dealers said.</P>Brent North Sea crude closed at $US71.46 a barrel.
<P>That was up 89 cents from Friday's closing level in London, and just off a
new high reached overnight of $US71.62.
<P>In New York, light sweet crude for May delivery surged $US1.08 from Friday to
close at $US70.40 a barrel, testing levels not seen since last summer.
<P>The New York and London markets were closed for the Good Friday holiday.
<P>Crude prices had last set a record in New York of $US70.85 on August 30,
after Hurricane Katrina hammered oil production facilities in the US Gulf of
Mexico region. <NOSCRIPT> </NOSCRIPT><NOSCRIPT><A
href="http://mercury.tiser.com.au/adclick/SITE=NBUS/AREA=NEWS.FINANCE/AAMSZ=300X250/pageid=1"></A>
</NOSCRIPT><!-- /AdSpace --></P>Fimat analyst Mike Fitzpatrick said news that
China's economy grew at a blistering pace of 10.2 per cent in the first quarter
confirmed for many "that overall global energy demand is set to remain strong".
<P>Also, he said, a suicide bomb attack in Israel which killed nine people in
Tel Aviv had fomented tensions in the Middle East.
<P>Responsibility for the blast was claimed by the Palestinian militant group
Islamic Jihad. Hamas, which recently formed a new Palestinian government, laid
the blame at Israel's door for its "aggression."
<P>Iran warned Washington on Sunday against attacking its nuclear facilities,
saying it had tens of thousands of would-be suicide bombers at the ready and
could count on the support of militants across the region.
<P>"The oil market is taking the threat seriously as Iran may have gone down the
path that leads to the point of no return," Alaron Trading analyst Phil Flynn.
<P>Traders worry that US-led military action would disrupt vital oil supplies
from Iran, which is the world's fourth-largest producer of crude with an output
of four million barrels per day.</P></DIV><A
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