Oil Hits $92 on Iran Anxieties

The price of oil surpassed $92 a barrel on US accusations that Iran supports terrorism and its attempt to apply pressure on other countries and companies to cut ties with the Mideastern nation. "The door is open to $100," an analyst tells Bloomberg, adding that the dispute will "continue to ratchet up." Earlier this month, oil passed the inflation-adjusted record set in 1981.

Investors reacted nervously to the Bush administration's new sanctions against Iran, announced yesterday. "The energy markets are taking note of this rhetoric with some justifiable alarm," wrote an analyst today. OPEC officials said that price increases won't lead it to step up production more than what was already planned for November. (More Iran stories.)