Oil set a new record high of a barrel on Tuesday, the latest spurt in an advance that has seen prices double over the past 12 months. Supply disruptions in Nigeria, where a strike and attacks by militants has hit production, have helped boost a market that is nervous about any threats to supply.
Oil set a record above a barrel on Thursday as a drop in United States gasoline inventories raised concern of tighter supply and a weak dollar boosted investor demand for commodities. A US government report on Wednesday showed a surprise drop in crude inventories and a larger-than-expected decline in stocks of petrol.