crude oil surges above 78 as middle east violence

Crude Oil Surges Above $78 as Middle East Violence Escalates
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $78 a barrel in New York for the first time as escalating violence in the Middle East and disruptions in Nigeria threatened global supplies.

Hezbollah militants fired rockets from Lebanon into Israel's third-biggest city after Israeli forces bombed Beirut international airport and other targets. A Nigerian newspaper yesterday reported that rebels had attacked pipelines, later denied by the owner of the facility, Italy's Eni SpA.

``There's real disruption to supplies in Nigeria, potential disruptions in Iran, and now you've got what's happening in Israel,'' said Tobin Gorey, commodity analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. in Sydney. ``Who wants to sell in this environment?''

Crude oil for August delivery rose as much as $1.70, or 2.2 percent, to $78.40 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $77.95 at 7:45 a.m. in Singapore, 35 percent higher than a year ago.

Today's rise takes oil's four-session gain to 6 percent. Prices rose after the U.S. and its allies resolved to refer their dispute over Iran's nuclear research to the United Nations Security Council, and after a government report showed U.S. oil and gasoline stockpiles fell more than expected last week.