Oil over $US120 a barrel
Updated
Crude oil prices have risen to a new high, of more than $US120-dollars a barrel.
Analysts attribute the latest increase to further unrest in the big African oil-producing nation, Nigeria, as well as escalating tensions between the West and Iran.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil futures hit a record $120.36 a barrel.
The higher crude prices have contributed to a slide in share prices on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones index is down 89-points, or .7 per cent.
