U.S. oil prices hit fresh record highs above $44 a barrel on Tuesday after the head of the OPEC producers' cartel said there was little the group could do to cool red-hot markets. U.S. light crude struck $44.24 a barrel, the highest since crude futures were launched on the New York Mercantile Exchange in 1983. It was last holding firm just below $44. London's Brent crude followed suit, scoring $40.45 a barrel, a level not seen since the run-up to the first Gulf War when it hit an all-time high of $40.95. "It's just up, up and away. There's no stopping it," said Edward Meir, an analyst at Man Energy, adding some brokers believed U.S. oil at $50 a barrel was no longer inconceivable. Oil prices have surged by more than one-third since the end of 2003 on worries that accelerating global demand has left supplies tightly stretched with little leeway for disruption. OPEC President Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Tuesday the cartel had no spare oil to hand to dampen prices. "The oil price is very high, it's crazy. There is no additional supply," Purnomo told reporters in Jakarta. --More 1814 Local Time 1514 GMT
