Analysts widely see that level as probable within the next two months. Oil currently hovers a few dollars shy of the record high of 70.85 dollars reached in August following Hurricane Katrina in the US.

Seventy dollars was once thought of as a potential breaking point for regional economies with heavy reliance on oil imports. The lesser impact now envisaged marks a welcome change from the pessimism that dominated the markets just five months ago.

"Seventy dollars appears likely but global growth seems solid right now," said David Cohen, a regional economist with Singapore-based Action Economics.

"The data from across the region shows that the Asian economies finished 2005 on a solid note supported by strength in global export demand. That looks likely to continue into the first half of 2006."

Middle East tensions, consumer demand and institutions which increasingly see oil as an investment risk pushing the cost of crude to beyond 90 dollars a barrel, according to some analysts.

BT Pension Scheme plans to invest one billion British pounds in the commodities market.

"This is a huge amount of money in the commodities market," said Tetsu Emori, chief commodities strategist with Mitsui Bussan Futures in Tokyo. "Oil prices would be pushed up by this kind of pension fund money.

"It's a big one we cannot ignore."

That prospect, plus possible sanctions against Iran and unparalleled growth in markets like China and India, has Emori forecasting oil prices of 90-97 dollars in the second half of this year.