Nymex crude at mth-high after Bhutto killing

World oil traded above $97 a barrel in Asia today, its highest level in a month, following the assassination of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, dealers said.

They said the rise in prices was also supported by a US report showing a higher-than-expected drop in US crude stockpiles.

In morning trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for February delivery, was 39 cents higher at $97.01 a barrel after closing 65 cents higher in New York.

Brent North Sea crude for February rose 23 cents to $95.01 a barrel after a jump of 84 cents in London trade on yesterday.

Crude futures had reached record highs near $100 per barrel in November and Tetsu Emori, a fund manager with Astmax asset management in Tokyo, said the Pakistani crisis and other factors gave renewed support to prices.

"Most of the factors are quite bullish," he said. Dealers said Bhutto's assassination yesterday night, which plunged the nation into crisis and sparked global condemnation and concern, would have a psychological impact on the market even though the country is not an oil producer.

There are "rising geopolitical tensions in Pakistan... and that is supportive for the crude market," AG Edwards analyst Eric Wittenauer said during yesterday trading.

MF Global's John Kilduff said that while oil flows would not be directly affected by the Bhutto killing, "it will suggest further destabilisation in an already unstable region."