Crude spikes over $116 in erratic Nymex trading

Crude oil futures breached $116 (Dh427) per barrel on Friday, hitting a new intraday high before retreating as a stronger dollar offered some investors a reason to lock in profits from the contract’s recent record run.

In a day marked by sharp volatility in the market, light, sweet crude for May delivery rose to a new record of $116.10 on the New York Mercantile Exchange before retreating to trade at $115.44 per barrel, 58 cents higher than Thursday’s settlement.

The run-up came after a militant group in Nigeria said it had sabotaged a major oil pipeline operated by a Royal Dutch Shell PLC joint venture and promised further attacks on the country’s petroleum industry.

The contract had fallen to close to $113 per barrel in overnight electronic trading as the dollar strengthened against the euro and other currencies.

A host of supply and demand concerns in the US and abroad, along with the dollar’s weakness, have served to support prices, even as record retail gasoline prices in the US appear to be dampening demand. Crude prices have risen as much as 4 per cent this week. (AP)