Oil has gushed to a new record, at one stage topping 140 dollars a barrel after Libya raised the prospect of production cuts. It came after Libya’s most senior oil official said he was considering reducing output in response to
moves in the US Congress to sue OPEC countries over limiting supplies.

Analysts say it highlights oil’s current vulnerability.

“When you get one more piece of the picture, it’s going to react. Whether it’s unrest in Nigeria, some problems in Venezuela, any kind of supply disruptions, a storm, any type of anything on a market that’s very jittery where volatility is very high the market is going to tend to overreact,” said one Wall Street trading expert.

It is more grim news for the hard pressed consumer. The previous record high was just short of 140 dollars a barrel on June 16.

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