Crude oil hits 21-year high

LONDON — Crude oil prices shot to new highs Wednesday as markets reacted to a threat by Russian authorities to shut down most of the production from that country’s largest oil company.

September contracts of U.S. light crude spiked 3 percent higher to $43.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange — the highest level since the exchange began offering the light, sweet crude contract in 1983. Prices eased slightly later in the day to $42.90, up $1.06 from Tuesday’s close.

In London, contracts of Brent crude for September delivery jumped to $39.68 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange, beating the previous high of $39.65 on Oct. 12, 1990, when Iraqi troops invaded Kuwait.

Yukos, battered by a gigantic overdue back taxes bill, said it might have to halt its main production units within a few days because of a bailiff’s order.

The company says it does not have the cash to pay its tax debt, and court orders have frozen assets that it could tap to raise money.

“The Yukos thing could dramatically affect global oil supplies,” said Adam Sieminski, an oil price strategist at Deutsche Bank in London.

Crude supplies are already extremely tight, with Iraq’s output hampered by saboteurs and most producers already pumping as much as they can. Saudi Arabia, the only producer that still has significant spare capacity, has recently boosted its production by about 1 million barrels a day, but much of this fresh oil has yet to reach customers and replenish their depleted inventories.