European government bonds pushed higher, boosted by weak equities and as the oil price continued to spiral to new record highs Refinery production problems in the US and strong global demand caused crude oil prices to spike higher this morning, with US futures hitting record highs above 66 usd per barrel and sparking concerns over the potential impact on global growth "The seemingly inexorable rise in oil prices should continue to underpin the market as investors start to speculate on its possible growth dampening effects," WestLB analysts said And if the recent jump in oil prices were to impact this afternoon's August US consumer sentiment indicator, bonds are likely to gain a further boost, they added Meanwhile, data showing weak economic growth in France in the second quarter gave further support to bonds The French economy grew by just 0.1 pct in the second quarter, according to official data, below the 0.2 pct growth forecast by analysts and well below the Bank of France's projection of 0.5 pct French employment was also subdued in the second quarter, figures showed, while analysts noted that high oil prices could prevent a significant pick-up in economic growth in the third quarter Over in the UK meanwhile, longer-dated gilts tracked their European counterparts higher, though short-dated issues continued to underperform after this week's Inflation Report from the Bank of England indicated that further interest rate cuts this year are unlikely