Budapest, August 13:

Oil prices settled at a record high near $67 yesterday, as US refinery outages looked set to test petrol supplies in the world’s biggest-consuming nation. The threat of hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico and concerns over Iran’s decision to resume uranium-conversion activities also fueled the price increase, analysts said. But some traders said purely speculative buying was a big factor behind the $10 per barrel surge in just over three weeks. “This is a bubble that will have to burst at some point.”