Oil prices lost a little ground today but stayed near year-high levels, as a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico that threatened crude supply to the US subsided, though tension in the oil-rich Middle East remained high.
Benchmark Brent crude oil dipped 21 cents to $28.85 a barrel, while US crude futures moved 29 cents lower to $30.35 a barrel, after hitting a 19-month peak of $31.39 on Tuesday.
In the latest attack by Western jets enforcing no-fly zones over Iraq, Baghdad said today US warplanes raided a civilian airport in the oil-producing region of Basra and damaged its radar system.
The United States is pushing for a tough new UN resolution to spell out that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein would face military action if he failed to allow weapons inspectors to investigate suspected weapons sites unhindered.
Washington accuses Iraq of developing weapons of mass destruction, though traders fear a conflict could disrupt supplies from the Middle East, which pumps around a third of the world's oil.
But Russia, which has veto powers on the United Nations Security Council, called today for a political solution to the Iraq crisis through existing UN resolutions.