Oil soars past $145
Oil surged past 145 US dollars per barrel for the first time Thursday
as the weak US dollar and Middle East tension stoked black gold's
record-breaking run, analysts said.
Brent North Sea crude for August delivery climbed 1.01 dollars to
145.27 dollars a barrel from its record close of 144.26 in London on
Wednesday, after breaking 144 dollars for the first time.
New York's benchmark contract, light sweet crude for August delivery,
hit an intra-day record price of 144.57 US dollars. By afternoon, the
contract was 66 cents higher at 144.23 against a record close of 143.57
in the US on Wednesday.
The latest surge followed a warning from Iranian Oil Minister Gholam
Hossein Nozari that his country, a key crude producer, would react
fiercely to any attack against it.
Global oil prices have doubled in the past year and have risen by 45
percent since the start of 2008, when they breached 100 dollars for the
first time, triggering fears over inflation and slower economic growth.
Protests against the soaring prices have also broken out around the
world.
"I think it's becoming fairly clear that the only thing that's going
to bring prices down is significant decline in demand growth in the Asia
Pacific," Feer said. |
