Crude oil prices surged past an unprecedented US$55 per barrel Monday as uncertainty swirls over production, high demand and tight global supplies ahead of the Northern Hemisphere winter. Crude for November delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit US$55.33 per barrel around noon in Asia, up 40 cents from its Friday settlement price. The November contract expires Wednesday. Heating oil also hit a new peak Monday while Brent crude for December delivery opened at an all-time high, hitting US$50.40 on London's International Petroleum Exchange. The crude oil prices are the highest in a generation and while oil is around 80 percent higher than a year ago, they are still around US$25 below the peak inflation-adjusted price reached in 1981. Crude prices have skyrocketed more than US$10 in the past month, primarily over production delays in the Gulf of Mexico, where Hurricane Ivan hit mid-September.
