Oil prices cease five-day slide

Sabotage continues to hit Iraqi oil exports

Oil prices inched up on Friday, after five straight days of falls from the record highs hit a week ago.

The slide had seen the cost of a barrel of oil on the Nymex futures exchange in New York drop 13% from $49.40, an all-time high.

But concerns about global demand and supplies from Iraq in the wake of fresh sabotage saw a slim rise of 8 cents to $43.18 a barrel.

London's Brent crude also rose from its three-week low, gaining 0.8% to $40.64.

The question is now whether Friday's firming of energy prices is a pit-stop on the way down, or marks a return to the seemingly relentless rises seen over the past few months.

Renewed speculative interest has been blamed for a proportion of the recent surge in prices, with some estimates suggesting it has added $5-$10 to the cost of a barrel of oil.

Certainly the unwinding of "long" positions - bets by investors on continued price gains - contributed to the $6 fall and ensured that the $50 barrier was not breached.

But after two nights of sabotage near Basra and Baghdad, supplies from Iraq are 500,000 barrels down on the 2 million a day seen earlier this week.

Demand remains at 24-year highs as well, fed by both the US and the fast-growing Chinese economy.