Oil rises to near $78 as traders eye Iran tension

[December 01, 2009]  SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices rose to near $78 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as Iran's detention of five British sailors threatened to raise tensions between a major crude exporter and Western powers.

Benchmark crude for January delivery was up 44 cents to $77.72 at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract climbed $1.23 to settle at $77.28 on Monday.

Iran is holding the five sailors after stopping their racing yacht in the Persian Gulf last week, the British government said Monday. The incident could heighten tensions between Iran, which is a major oil exporter, and world powers, including Britain, that are demanding a halt to its nuclear program.

Iran detained and eventually released 15 British military personnel in the Gulf in March 2007.

"It's obviously a source of potential tension, but I'm not sure it's having a significant impact on the oil price at this stage," said David Moore, commodity strategist with Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney.

Moore expects oil to average $77 a barrel next year as crude demand from the U.S. remains weak.

"There are surprisingly few signs of improvement and that's a real constraint on the oil price," Moore said. "The international economic recovery is likely to be fairly hesitant process in the coming year."

In other Nymex trading, natural gas shed 5.3 cents to $4.80 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude for January delivery gained 41 cents to $78.88 on the ICE Futures exchange.

[Associated Press; By ALEX KENNEDY]

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