World oil prices rose on Monday, trading at seven-month highs above 68 dollars a barrel in London, on supply concerns caused by the Britain-Iran sailor crisis, traders said.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for May rose 48 cents to 68.58 dollars in electronic trading.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, gained one cent to 65.88 dollars in electronic deals before the official open of the US market.
"Prices have surged in recent days as relations between Iran and the West have deteriorated," Sucden analyst Michael Davies said.
Iranian state television said Monday that all 15 British sailors and marines detained by Iran late last month have now "confessed" to illegally entering its territorial waters. Britain insists the sailors were in Iraqi waters when captured.
Iran is the world's fourth biggest producer of crude oil and some analysts believe there is a risk that the Islamic Republic could move to disrupt its oil exports should the crisis with Britain escalate.
The detention of the 14 men and one woman has further poisoned relations between Iran and the West at time of mounting international impatience with the Islamic republic over its refusal to rein in its contested nuclear programme.
Last week Brent crude reached 69.14 dollars a barrel -- the highest level since September 4, 2006 -- on the Iran crisis.
On Monday the market was also tracking events in Nigeria, where a British oil worker was kidnapped over the weekend, an industry source said.
A spokesman for Britain's Foreign Office confirmed that London was aware of an incident in which a British national was abducted.
"Nigeria, on top of Iran, on top of relatively tight market fundamentals (of supply and demand), provides plenty of market-moving news," said Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin and Gertz.
The company which manages the offshore rig he was seized from said on Monday direct negotiations are taking place with the group which abducted the oil worker.
If Iran released the British personnel, prices could immediately drop "a few dollars" but further escalation of the war of words between the two countries could provide plenty of room for speculators, Shum added.
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AFP
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