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SINGAPORE—Crude oil rose to a record above $145 a barrel
in New York as investors sought an alternative to
tumbling stock markets.
Oil has
advanced more than 50 percent this year, while equity
indexes and the US currency have declined. Economists
expect the European Central Bank (ECB) to raise its
benchmark rate Thursday, spurring commodity buying as a
hedge against a weaker dollar. Summer maintenance at
North Sea oil fields is limiting European crude
supplies, further supporting prices.
“With
equity markets groaning under the pressure of poor
economic data and the US dollar out of favor before the
ECB decision, monies are flowing into oil,” said Rob
Laughlin, a senior broker at MF Global Ltd. in London.
“Who would want to be short [in] oil at this moment in
time?”
Crude
oil for August delivery climbed as much as $2.28, or 1.6
percent, to $145.85 a barrel in electronic trading on
the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since
trading began in 1983. It was at $145.58 at 12 p.m.
(Thursday in London. Bloomberg) |
