'Worst ever' OPEC meeting pushes oil price near $118

An OPEC dispute over whether to raise oil production levels has sent oil prices soaring to $117.8 per barrel.

The price of Brent Crude climbed 2.1% late yesterday to over $117, before rising further this morning to trade at around $117.9 just after London's main market opened. US light sweet crude also jumped 71 cents to $101.10 per barrel, after the 12 members of OPEC were unable to agree on a deal to raise production levels, dashing hopes more barrels could be produced to alleviate pressure on the price. Iranian oil minister Mohammad Aliabadi, president of OPEC, which supplies around a third of the world's oil, described the decision to raise production levels as "unwelcome" by some members...