Fuel worries keep oil prices high

Dealers say there is concern over winter oil supplies

Oil prices have set new records amid concerns that there may not be enough supplies for the key winter period.

New York light crude hit $55.33 a barrel in pre-opening trade in New York on Monday, before eventually falling back £1.26 to close at $53.67.

In London, Brent crude went as high as $50.32, before ending at $48.91.

Analysts have said crude could top $60 a barrel by the end of the year and warn higher energy costs may be beginning to slow economic growth.

'Close attention'

Federal Reserve head Alan Greenspan has said that while oil prices do not yet pose a serious threat to the US economy, further increases could pose a significant risk in terms of both growth and inflation.

There is no doubt that at some point in the next six months we are going to see a price retreat Daniel Hayes, ANZ Bank The latest oil prices

Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui said on Monday that he expected Japan's economy to continue to recover but that "close attention" must be paid to the rising oil prices.

A Japanese government report last week said the economic recovery could be affected by the high price of oil, as well as by possible slowdowns in demand from China and the US.

Victor Shum, oil analyst at the US-based energy consultants Purvin & Gertz said $60 a barrel is "certainly feasible", adding that a "new milestone" has been reached.

Daniel Hayes, an analyst at ANZ Bank in Melbourne, was more sanguine, saying that the current oil prices were "unsustainable".

"There is no doubt that at some point in the next six months we are going to see a price retreat," he predicted on Monday.