Oil prices held steady near record highs in Asian trading on Thursday, boosted by a decline in United States energy reserves and a weakening dollar that attracted investors to commodities, analysts said.
New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, was four cents higher at $114,97 per barrel after a record close of $114,93 at the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday.
In electronic trading after Wednesday’s session, the price crossed $115 for the first time and reached a high of $115,21.
Brent North Sea crude for June delivery was lower at $112,65, from a record close of $112,66 on Wednesday in London. London Brent jumped even higher in after-hours trading, where it struck a record peak of $112,83.
Both futures contracts also hit record highs on Tuesday in a market worried about tight supplies.
Those concerns were accentuated on Wednesday by the weekly report from the US Department of Energy, which showed US energy stockpiles tumbled in the week ending April 11. — AFP