Oil prices jumped US$1 a barrel to a new high Monday after the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd raised concerns about the kingdom’s long-term political stability.

Crown Prince Abdullah, in charge of Saudi oil since Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995, was appointed monarch of the world’s largest crude exporter.

The country’s oil policy is not expected to change now that power has formally shifted to Fahd’s 81-year-old brother, the de facto leader during the past decade.

Light sweet crude for September delivery briefly rose as high as US$62.30 a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, then retreated to settle at US$61.57, a rise of US$1. The previous closing high on NYMEX was US$61.28, set July 6.

Traders also kept an eye on refinery operations in the United States, where the rate of gasoline and heating oil output has fallen in recent weeks due to hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico.