Oil prices have risen by more than one third this year
Oil prices surged past the $83-a-barrel level on Thursday, near record highs, after a US inventory report showed lower-than-expected stockpiles.
Supply fears sent US sweet light crude to $83.04 a barrel in Asian trade, near its $83.90 high set on 20 September.
US crude stocks fell by 1.7 million barrels last week, according to the US department of energy. A gain of one million had been expected.
The news also pushed up London Brent Crude by $1.55 to $80.11.
'Concerns'
World oil prices have been rising since the beginning of the year on the fear that supply will be unable to cope with rising demand.
In addition, some investors have bet heavily that the price of crude oil must rise further, pushing up prices even higher.
US crude oil stocks dipped to the lowest level since January, a report by the US Energy Information Administration showed, in contrast to analyst expectations for a rise.
"Looking at the bigger picture they [the EIA figures] do raise a lot of concerns about what's happening with the overall market," said Alaron Trading analyst Phil Flynn.
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