World oil prices rose in Asian trade today on fears that mounting political tensions in Egypt would disrupt supplies flowing through the Suez Canal, analysts said.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for March delivery, was up 37 cents to $89.71 per barrel in morning trade.
Brent North Sea crude for March rose 18 cents at $99.60.
"The rising prices reflect continued tension in Egypt and the possibility that there would be (supply) constraints through the Suez Canal," said Ben Westmore, minerals and energy economist for National Australia Bank in Melbourne.
Tom Bentz of BNP Paribas said about one million barrels of oil per day pass through the Suez Canal.
"There is some nervousness about supplies and that could affect Europe more than the US," he said.
On Sunday, Egypt's embattled President Hosni Mubarak tasked his new prime minister to ram through democratic reforms as thousands of protesters in central Cairo defied a military curfew to demand the veteran leader's ouster.
His instructions to Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq were read out on state television but had no discernable effect on protesters who vowed to continue their demonstrations until Mubarak stepped down.
Investors are concerned that similar demonstrations -- which have also touched Tunisia, Yemen and Jordan -- could spread elsewhere in the oil-rich Middle East.
