Crude Oil Continues to Rise, Closing Near $67 a Barrel

rude oil prices rose 11 cents Monday after topping $67 a barrel in intraday trading, news services reported.

Benchmark light sweet crude oil closed at $66.74 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported. That compares with $60.42 cents two weeks ago.

Crude prices hit a record $70.85 last Aug. 29 as Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, and gasoline and diesel retail prices each then soared to record highs of more than $3 a gallon.

One of the top threats to the oil market is a standoff between the United Nations and Iran, OPEC’s No. 2 oil producer, over that country’s nuclear energy ambitions, the Associated Press reported.

Iran's foreign minister said Friday his country would not use oil as an economic weapon, which that helped ease prices, but analysts said they remain concerned about supplies from Iraq, Russia, Venezuela and other places, AP reported.

Any supply disruption that pushes oil prices to $80 or higher over a sustained period could result in an global economic slowdown, AP said, citing analysts.