Oil hits peak near $120 on Nigeria, Britain woes

By Matthew Robinson

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil hit a fresh peak near $120 a barrel on Monday as supply outages in Nigeria and Britain shut down nearly 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of output in the Atlantic Basin.

U.S. crude settled up 23 cents at $118.75 a barrel after earlier hitting a record of $119.93. London Brent crude settled up 40 cents to settle at $116.74.

Crude prices have surged more than fivefold since 2002 and are up almost 25 percent since the start of the year as global supplies struggle to keep pace with rising demand in emerging economies, such as China.

"Continued attacks in Nigeria and refinery closures in Scotland ... may see the U.S. target $121-122 a barrel this week, with longer-term charts all pointing to $130 or higher," said Ben Coleman, senior commodities trader at TradIndex.

A weak U.S. dollar has also attracted investors into commodities markets, analysts have said.

DISRUPTIONS

Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Monday it has had to shut nearly all of its Nigerian oil production, totaling around 770,000 barrels per day, due to a strike.

Niger Delta rebels, meanwhile, have said an April 24 pipeline attack had shut down a further 350,000 barrels per day of production by Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).