NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil prices neared a record above $70 a barrel on Monday as Iran's pursuit of its nuclear program heightened fears the United States might take military action against the oil-producing nation.
U.S. light sweet crude settled up $1.08 to $70.40 a barrel, the highest settlement since the contract began trading in 1983, but still below the intraday high of $70.85 hit last August after Hurricane Katrina battered oil infrastructure along the U.S. Gulf Coast.
London's Brent crude on Monday rose 89 cents to $71.46 after touching a new record high of $71.62.
"The continuing rhetoric out of Iran over the weekend helps to keep it supported and poised to go higher," said John Kilduff, senior vice-president, energy risk management group at Fimat USA in New York.
Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Monday Iran would continue to pursue its nuclear program following its announcement last week it had enriched uranium for use in power stations.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran does not intend to stop," he told reporters in Kuwait during a visit to the Gulf state.
The West suspects the nation is trying to build an atomic bomb and talk of a U.S. attack has topped the international news agenda since a report in The New Yorker magazine this month said Washington was considering using tactical nuclear weapons to knock out Iran's subterranean nuclear sites.
Fear of possible disruption of supplies from Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, has helped drive the price of U.S. crude more than 20 percent higher since mid-February....