Oil surged over $113 per barrel Tuesday on word of supply disruptions in Nigeria and Mexico and increasing fuel demand in China, Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

Oil increased $1.90 to $113.66 per barrel Tuesday morning after Mexico, the third largest supplier of oil to the United States, shut its fourth export terminal Monday, while Eni SpA halted output in Nigeria, Bloomberg New reported. Meanwhile, China, which boasts world's fastest-growing major economy, said diesel oil imports increased 49% in March 2008.

The other major energy commodities also vaulted ahead on the news in early trading Tuesday. Heating oil jumped 3 cents to $3.25 per gallon, unleaded gasoline added 2 cents to $2.84 per gallon, and natural gas added about 14 cents to $10.20 per million BTUs.

Supply disruptions jolt market

Independent energy trader Jim Dietz told BloggingStocks Tuesday the supply disruptions in Mexico and Nigeria were negative datapoints the oil market did not need.

Oil prices briefly jumped above $107 Thursday morning on news that saboteurs had blown up a major Iraqi export pipeline, the Agence France-Presse reported.

Oil rose $1.26 to $107.16 per barrel in early trading Thursday, before moderating some, to about $106.50. The other major energy commodities also jumped on the news in early trading Wednesday. Heating oil rose about 5 cents to $3.09 per gallon, unleaded gasoline added 1 cent to $2.72 per gallon, and natural gas rose about 3 cents to $9.43 per million BTUs.

One of Iraq's two main oil export pipelines near the southern city of Basra was blown up by saboteurs on Thursday, Samir al-Maksusi, Southern Oil Company spokesman, told the AFP. The pipeline transports oil from the Zubair oil field to the Al-Faw storage facility, where it is exported.

Oil spikes

The Iraq incident marks the second consecutive day a bullish data point has pushed oil prices substantially higher, and underscores the skittish price qualities of the world's most vital commodity, according to independent energy trader Jim Dietz. Dietz said that heading into the week many traders had expected oil to continue to trend lower on sluggish demand for oil and oil products in the U.S., due to its economic slowdown.

Oil closed up $1.65 to $100.88 Tuesday -- a new record-high print close -- as traders piled into the world's most vital commodity on the belief it will serve as an inflation hedge if U.S. inflation accelerates this year.

Oil had hit an intra-session high of $101.11 earlier in the day before pulling back slightly. (Oil hit an all-time high, in inflation-adjusted terms, of $102.80 per barrel in April 1980.)

Energy commodities close up

The other major energy commodities also closed higher. Heating oil gained about two cents to $2.79 per gallon, unleaded gasoline climbed about one cent to $2.54, and natural gas gained about one cent to $9.19 per million BTUs.

Independent energy trader Jim Dietz told BloggingStocks Tuesday that the market is not taking into consideration oil's bearish fundamentals, which show rising inventories in several key categories, but is trading more on psychology: namely, ambition.

Oil plummeted $2.38 to $89.52 in early trading Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Agency announced that weekly crude oil inventories rose 4.3 million barrels to 287.1 million barrels, well above the 1.25 million barrel increase consensus estimate.

Heating oil fell 4 cents to $2.49, unleaded gasoline fell about 5 cents to $2.26, and natural gas fell about 4 cents to $8.15 per million BTUs.

However, despite the prospect of a U.S. recession that could lower oil demand, the International Energy Agency maintained its 2008 global oil demand forecast at 87.8 million barrels per day, a 2.3% increase from 2007, the organization announced Wednesday in a statement.

Still, the IEA qualified its 2008 oil demand projection by saying the estimate would be adjusted downward if evidence indicated the U.S. economy continues to slow.