A new record for black gold

Oil is back on the boil: US crude futures closed above the $100 a barrel mark for the first time this week. But can black gold remain at these levels in the face of an economic slowdown?

A series of supply problems have rattled the tight market, including a pipeline leak in Nigeria, where violence has already shut a fifth of the country

Short covering by bearish traders helped boost prices, while investors unnerved by turmoil in bond and equity markets have been piling into commodities of late, a trend buttressed by the weak dollar. Moreover, Opec has signalled that production will not be raised at its next meeting in March. Opec