International oil prices have neared 50 dollars a barrel as geopolitical unrest in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia keep traders at unrest.

In the New York Mercantile Exchange, light crude for November delivery settled 76 cents higher at 49.64 dollars a barrel on Monday, posting a new record.

In London, November Brent crude futures rose 60 cents to 45.93 dollars on the International Petroleum Exchange.

Analysts attributed the price surge to reports of violence in oil-rich Nigeria, clashes in Saudi Arabia between government forces and suspected al-Qaida-linked militants and mortar attacks on the Iraqi Oil Ministry in Baghdad.

Analysts also cited the slower-than expected rate of petroleum output in the Gulf of Mexico following Hurricane Ivan as another reason for the oil prices charging toward 50 dollars a barrel.