The price of oil hit a new high of almost $120 a barrel yesterday, as expectations rose that soaring food prices would provoke a rethink of support for biofuels in Europe and the US.

Biofuels produced from crops such as corn and soya provide a small but fast-growing share of supplies of vehicle fuels, and have been expected to make an important contribution to meeting growing demand in the future. But yesterday Gordon Brown, prime minister, said the country could push for a change in the European Union's target to increase the proportion of biofuels to 10 per cent of road fuels by 2020.