US oil prices raced towards $46 a barrel today after Russia's Yukos suspended some oil exports to China and traders remained concerned about storm-related supply disruptions into the United States.
US light crude jumped to the day's peak at $45.89 a barrel before easing to $45.80, up 21 cents. London's Brent crude rose 15 cents to $42.60.
Oil companies worked at the weekend to restore crude and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, and refineries on the US Gulf Coast brought operations back slowly after Hurricane Ivan passed through.
Traders fear that Tropical Storm Jeanne may delay imports into the United States, where crude stockpiles are already at a six-month low.
The US National Hurricane Center in Miami expected Jeanne to turn to the northeast, away from the Bahamas, by late today, on a path that would spare Florida, which has been devastated by three hurricanes in the past five weeks.
Forecasters kept an eye on two other tropical systems, the latest in an unrelenting Atlantic hurricane season.
Global supplies are already straining to meet the fastest growth in oil demand in 24 years and will be put under further pressure after Russia's biggest oil exporter, Yukos, said at the weekend it had suspended rail deliveries to China's CNPC.
It was the first sign of supply disruptions at Yukos due to its financial problems.
The company supplies about 1 million bpd to Western markets and China.