America hit by record crude prices

Source: Energy Digital

Date :6/30/2008 12:11:02 PM

The United States was bracing itself this week itself as oil prices surged past US$143 a barrel for the first time ever, and the prices at the gas station hit an all-time high.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose US$3.46 to US$143.67 a barrel at midday. Those prices fell to US$142.17, but a barrel was still up US$1.96 in early trading.

On Friday, crude futures spiked to a record $142.99 a barrel in New York before closing at US$140.21.

At the gas station, meanwhile, US gas prices continued to climb, reaching a national average of US$4.086 a gallon. Gas prices last hit a record on June 16 when a gallon of gas cost US$4.08.

Analysts said daily trading volumes for Nymex oil would probably continue last week's trend and stay on the light side, leading to higher volatility during the trading sessions.

“We would not expect liquidity to be much better this week, as it will be a short trading week due to the July 4 weekend,” Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland said in a research note.

A lacklustre US stock market has also seeking higher-yielding investments such as oil The Dow Jones industrial average has fallen to its lowest level in nearly two years, and is down nearly 20 percent since its peak in October.