Business | Oil & Gas

Oil surges to new record high near $140 a barrel

Oil surged to a new record high on Monday of nearly $140 a barrel, because of weakness in the US dollar which offset the mpact of plans by Saudi Arabia to boost output.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 17:41 June 16, 2008
  • Gulf News

London: Oil surged to a new record high on Monday of nearly $140 a barrel, because of weakness in the US dollar which offset the mpact of plans by Saudi Arabia to boost output.

US light, sweet crude for July delivery was up $3.74 at $138.60 a barrel by 1317 GMT, after falling as much as $1.40 a barrel, or about 1 percent, earlier in the session.

US crude set a record high of $139.89 a barrel.

London Brent crude was up $3.05 at $138.16.

Prices leapt as the dollar fell after publication of data from the New York Federal Reserve that showed manufacturing in the state of New York contracted in June for the fourth time in five months.

Earlier in the session prices had dropped back after United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon said over the weekend that Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, was set to increase output to 9.7 million barrels per day in July, its second supply boost in as many months.

That would be a rise of 550,000 bpd or over 6 per cent since May and would take Saudi output to its highest monthly rate since August 1981, according to US government data.

Saudi plans emerged ahead of a meeting of oil producers and consumers on June 22 to find a solution to record oil prices that have caused consumer protests in Asia and Europe.

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