High crude oil prices a cause for concern, says oil secretary Pankaj Jain

Rising crude oil prices are a cause for concern for the world's third-largest importer of the commodity, India's oil secretary Pankaj Jain said on April 3.

As a consuming nation any increase in prices will cause concern and anxiety, Jain said at an event, referring to the "geopolitical premium" in crude prices, reported news agency Reuters.

If oil prices continue to stay higher for a month longer, oil marketing companies will take an appropriate decision, the secretary said, when asked if there is a case for increasing retail fuel prices.

The minister's comments come in the backdrop of global oil benchmark Brent rising above $89 a barrel for the first time since October, albeit briefly, as oil supplies faced fresh threats from Ukranian attacks on Russian energy facilities and escalating conflict in the Middle East.

Brent futures for June delivery were up $1.16, or 1.3%, at $88.58 a barrel by 1218 GMT after touching a peak of $89.08.

Russia, among the top three global oil producers and one of the largest exporters of oil products, has been contending with a spate of ukrainian attacks on its oil refineries and has mounted its own attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

In the Middle East, Iran has vowed to take revenge on Israel for an airstrike that killed two of its top generals and five other military advisers at the Iranian embassy compound in Damascus.