Crude Prices Hit 7-Year High : Energy: Jitters over supply problems and war fears in the Persian Gulf could send the price of oil to $35.

NEW YORK —  Energy prices soared to their highest levels in seven years today as supply fears and a new bout of jitters over the Mideast crisis swept through the market.

In early New York trading, crude oil for October delivery hit $33.10 a barrel--a record high for the West Texas Intermediate contract, which began trading in 1983. By 2 p.m. EDT, the contract had slipped off its high but was still up a steep $1.11 to $32.87 a barrel.

October gasoline rose 2.14 cents to 92.55 cents a gallon, and October heating oil climbed 2.26 cents to 85.05 cents a gallon.

The rally on the New York Mercantile Exchange was sparked by a surge in crude oil prices in London trading, where North Sea oil prices were at their highest since late 1982. Oil prices are double the level they were just six weeks ago before Iraq’s Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait.

London November futures for the world benchmark crude, Brent Blend from the North Sea, rose as much as $1.48 to $32.20 per barrel.

Today’s strong futures prices reflected what traders said was brisk demand for oil for physical delivery.

“People are very nervous about where their next cargo is coming from,” one London-based crude oil trader said.

A rumor, later denied, that a pipeline problem was affecting Soviet oil exports also boosted prices. The Soviet Union, which produces about 12 million barrels per day, is the world’s biggest producer of oil and natural gas and has been plagued by supply problems over recent years.

Any disruption of Soviet oil would increase the impact of Mideast supply cuts, traders said.

Many analysts said they expected prices to push higher, possibly hitting $35 per barrel this week.

“It looks like we’re moving closer to, rather than further away from, a war in the Mideast, and the market is so technically strong that people are now looking for $35,” said one trader.