Oil smashed past $135 a barrel for the first time on Thursday, continuing its astonishing rise following unexpected drops in United States crude and petrol stocks in a tight market, dealers said. Large institutional investors continued to pile money into oil, which is giving better returns than investments in stocks and bonds, further heating up prices, they said.
Oil prices held steady near record highs in Asian trading on Thursday. 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.
The price of New York oil on Wednesday struck an historic peak at $114,95 on news that United States energy inventories tumbled last week and as the US currency hit an all-time low against the euro, traders said. Later on Wednesday, New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, stood at $114,37 a barrel, up 58 cents on Tuesday’s close.
Oil prices surged past $105 for the first time on Thursday as traders reacted to a surprisingly sharp fall in United States crude reserves and the plunging US dollar, analysts said. New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, hit $105,10 per barrel, topping the previous record of $104,95 set on Wednesday.
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/ 31 October 2007
Oil prices hit fresh record highs on Wednesday, with New York crude at $94 per barrel after news that United States crude inventories had slumped last week, traders said. "The market is clearly reacting to the larger-than-expected drop in crude oil inventories," said Citigroup analyst Tim Evans. Over the course of Wednesday, prices rocketed by as much as $4 to $5.
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/ 21 September 2007
The price of London Brent oil hit another all-time high on Friday on United States storm concerns at the end of a record-breaking week that saw New York crude soar beyond per barrel. The price of Brent North Sea crude for November delivery surged as high as ,35 per barrel, beating Thursday’s record.
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/ 14 September 2007
New York oil prices fell on Friday on profit-taking after striking a fresh record peak above $80 a barrel overnight on concerns over tight supplies of United States crude, dealers said. New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October dropped 57 cents to $79,52 per barrel.