Oil on the boil

A blistering four-year rally in crude oil shows no sign yet of running out of steam and crude could top US$80 a barrel this year, analysts say.

London's Brent crude hit an all-time high of US$72.20 a barrel yesterday and US crude hit a record US$70.88 on concern that Iran's nuclear stand-off with the West could cut oil exports from the world's fourth largest exporter.

Oil has almost doubled in two years and prices are nearing the inflation-adjusted peaks of more than US$80 hit in 1980, the year after the Iranian revolution.