Crude oil prices soared to new highsTuesday, stopping just short of US$45 per barrel, after Iraq said it had stopped pumping oil from its key southern oil fields. Crude was at US$44.80 at 0650 GMT in after-hours trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after it earlier hit an all-time high of US$44.99 per barrel. The market was also dealt another blow from the ongoing battle between Russian authorities and embattled oil giant Yukos.
