Crude Settles Over $145 Ahead of Holiday
Oil prices jumped past $145 a barrel for the first time, as traders added to their bets on the commodity ahead of the long holiday weekend.
There was little good news for Americans hitting the road for the July Fourth holiday, as gas prices set their own record near $4.10 a gallon.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery surged $1.72 to settle at a record $145.29 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the trading session, the last of the week, the contract rose to $145.85 a barrel, also a new high.
Thursday’s surge in oil was propelled by a report of lower crude stockpiles in the U.S., lingering concerns about conflict with Iran and comments by Saudi Arabia’s oil minister suggesting his country would not boost production.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 3.45 cents to settle at $4.106 a gallon, while gasoline futures added 2.16 cents to settle at $3.571 a gallon. Natural gas futures gained 18.8 cents to settle at $13.584 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude futures rose to a trading record of $146.69 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange before settling at $146.08, up $1.82.
