May 11, 2006 4:00 PM, EDT

Crude Oil Rises to Over $73 a Barrel

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rude oil spiked to more than $73 a barrel Thursday on renewed concern over world demand, and tensions in Iran and Nigeria that are threatening supplies, Bloomberg reported.

Benchmark light sweet crude oil futures closed at $73.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.19 from Wednesday, Bloomberg reported.

The price is less than $2 off the record closing price of $75.17 set three weeks ago, on April 21.

The Energy Department said this week that global fuel use will rise 1.9% this year.

Iran — engaged in a dispute with the United States over its fledgling nuclear program — produced about 3.5 million barrels of oil a day last month, Bloomberg said.

Nigeria’s output has declined about 20% since February, due to militant attacks on oil installations there, Bloomberg reported.

Together, the two OPEC members produce about 7% of world oil output. The United States does not import oil from Iran.