The US government on Tuesday emerged as one of the most bullish forecasters of oil prices, raising its outlook for this year to nearly $50 a barrel.

The report by the US Department of Energy pushed Brent crude futures, the European benchmark, to an all-time high in nominal terms of $53.20 a barrel. The rising oil price also helped propel the Reuters CRB index, which tracks a basket of commodities, to a 21-year high. Concern about high oil prices will dominate the Organisation of the Exporting Petroleum Countries meeting in Isfahan, Iran, next Wednesday.