April 18, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 11, 1429

LONDON, April 17: The price of New York oil hit a record high $115.54 per barrel on Thursday, boosted by falling US energy reserves and a weak dollar, which attracts investors into commodities, analysts said.

New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, later stood at $114.50, down 43 cents from Wednesday’s close as profit-taking occurred.

Also Thursday, Brent North Sea crude for June delivery soared to a historic peak of $113.38. It later stood at $112.22, down 44 cents.

“Crude futures were supported (early Thursday) by last night’s (US oil stockpile) figures and with the dollar still holding near all time lows against the euro,” said Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov in London.

“Overall, it is quite clear that investors are not prepared to liquidate oil futures at the moment, with strong fund and speculator interest as they seek better returns in commodities.

“Just as before, the weakness in the US dollar theme dominates most markets at the moment,” he added.

On Thursday, the euro hit a record high $1.5984 as the European Central Bank warned that surging eurozone inflation could last longer than thought, reducing chances of a cut to interest rates, analysts said.

The sliding US currency makes dollar-priced goods, like crude oil, cheaper for foreign buyers and, therefore, stimulates demand.

Kryuchenkov said that “as long as the greenback remains under pressure, market participants will be buying into gold, oil and other commodities.”

On Wednesday, the US government’s Department of Energy (DoE) announced that American crude inventories slumped 2.3 million barrels in the week ending April 11, compared with the consensus forecast for a drop of 1.8 million.

The latest record price was due to the “bullish stats from the DoE,” said Tony Nunan of Mitsubishi Corporation’s international petroleum business in Tokyo.

“Prices could definitely hit $120 within the week,” he added.

Crude reserves in the United States now stand at 313.7 million barrels, in the lower half of the average range for this time of year, the DoE said.

US gasoline or petrol stocks fell 5.5 million barrels last week, considerably more than market expectations for a fall of 1.8 million barrels.

Traders are focused on gasoline supplies ahead of the peak demand season for motor fuel that starts in May when Americans take to the highways for holiday.

Elsewhere, a report on Thursday in London’s Financial Times newspaper said that output in Africa’s biggest crude producer, Nigeria, could fall by nearly a third by 2015 if the country does not attract more investment. —AFP