Oil jumped over $1.50 on Friday to fresh two-month highs above $64 a barrel as instability in the Middle East and other key oil-producing regions sparked supply concerns, according to Reuters. U.S. February light crude climbed $1.51 to $64.30 a barrel by 1839 GMT, the highest level since mid-October. Friday's gains extended a rise of more than $5 since late last week as investors poured fresh money into market to capitalize on the strength of commodities. London Brent crude rose $1.79 at $62.92 a barrel. Analysts said recent events in West Africa and the Middle East underlined concerns about the security of supplies from developing countries, which control a large share of the world's energy resources. "This just rams home how much the Western world is dependent upon the 'Wild West' for its energy supplies, whether its West Africa or the Middle East or Russia," said Ian Henderson at JP Morgan Fleming in London. Recent weeks have seen attacks on Nigeria's oil pipelines, a Russia-Ukraine row over natural gas prices that briefly cut European supplies, and closure of Iraq's biggest refinery due to security threats. --More 00 31 Local Time 21 31 GMT
