By KUNA
Washington : Fears from instability in Central Asia after the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on Thursday pushed oil prices to near an all- time high level in the U.S markets.
U.S. crude for February delivery rose USD 1.35 to USD 97.32 a barrel due to fears among investors that any instability in Pakistan could spread to neighboring states in the oil-rich Central Asian region.
Bhutto who returned in October of this year to seek the prime minister’s seat, was killed, along with at least 14 others, in a suicide attack following a political rally Thursday.
Oil prices were also supported by a U.S. government report Thursday showing a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. crude inventories.
In its weekly inventory report, the Energy Information Administration said crude stocks fell by 3.3 million barrels last week while analysts were looking for a drop of 1.3 million barrels only.