•Global crude futures stabilized in European morning trading on Friday, holding close to the record highs reached across the petroleum futures complex in late-Thursday and early-Friday trading. While last week's record highs were mainly attributed to NYMEX WTI's strength, the latest price rally was led by ICE Brent futures, triggered by renewed violence in Nigeria Thursday, where gunmen reportedly killed one foreign oil worker and abducted two others in an attack on a compound belonging to Italian oil company Saipem, analysts said.

•The clear backwardated front-end structure for ICE Brent now established is seen as an additional incentive for funds to go long ahead of the contract's expiry, as it allows them to profit from rolling over positions. This makes it more financially attractive for hedge funds to build up new long positions in prompt contracts.

Updated: September 28, 2007