Former US Federal Reserve Chairperson Alan Greenspan on Monday predicted crude oil prices would continue their upward march despite fears that a US recession could ripple into other regions.

"I see the price of oil in an upward trend unless we see a global weakening in demand. And this is unlikely to happen," Greenspan said, speaking at a conference in Abu Dhabi.

On Wednesday, front-month March light, sweet crude oil futures traded at an all-time high at $101.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rallied on a combination of factors: supply concerns, speculative buying and technical charts.

Despite the recent surge in prices, oil market participants remain concerned that slowing economic growth in the US, the world's largest oil consumer, would dampen oil demand worldwide.

At 2.56pm GMT on Monday, the front-month April light, sweet contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading $0.42 lower at $98.39 a barrel. The March contract expired Wednesday.

I-Net Bridge