ENERGY : Mideast Worries Lift Oil Prices 96 Cents a Barrel
Oil prices soared Monday as news that Western warships fired shots across the bows of an Iraqi vessel rattled the market.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for November delivery jumped 96 cents to close at $38.95 a barrel, approaching the Sept. 27 high of $40.10 a barrel. The all-time high for cash crude oil was $41 in 1980 amid panic buying fed by the war between Iran and Iraq.
The market soared on news that Western warships had fired shots across the bows of an Iraqi cargo ship that refused to stop for inspection. American, British and Australian forces boarded the cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman.
The ship was carrying rice, flour and other cargo prohibited under a United Nations trade embargo, a U.S. Navy spokesman said.
Unleaded gasoline for November delivery closed up 1.11 cents at 93.75 cents a gallon. Heating oil rose 0.26 cent to $1.0296 a gallon.
Traders said the market was also unsettled by news that two U.S. military helicopters disappeared while flying a routine training mission in the northern Arabian Sea.
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