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Oil could hit the landmark high of US$100 this week, according to industry analysts.
Crude prices rose above US$96 ($125) at the weekend on US winter fuel supply concerns and a tumbling US dollar.
US crude settled up US86c at US$96.32 a barrel, off earlier highs of US$96.68. London Brent crude climbed US39c to US$93.18.
Oil struck a record US$98.62 a barrel on Wednesday (US time) as falling inventories in consumer nations stir worries of a supply shortage during the Northern Hemisphere winter.
Support has also come from a large volume of options positions for US$100 oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange, still open despite the expiration on Tuesday.
Experts said that with 42,000 options contracts to buy oil at US$100 still open, financial players might try to push oil into triple digits before the expiration.
"I think the one thing that people are continuing to eye is the options expiration," said Eric Wittenauer, analyst at AG Edwards in St Louis. "I think people would be hesitant to sell into this market."
But oil prices could tumble once the options expire, Lehman Brothers said in a research note.
- Reuters
