Oil sinks on stronger dollar to $115 a barrel

Oil sinks on stronger dollar to $115 a barrel

Saturday, August 9th 2008

Oil prices dove to $115 a barrel on Friday, driven lower by a huge jump in the U.S. dollar, signs of moderating demand around the world and the burgeoning belief that commodities may have peaked.

Shrugging off concerns about a sabotaged oil pipeline in Turkey, investors pulled their money out of commodities and put it back into stocks, giving crude oil a weekly loss of nearly $10 a barrel, and driving the Dow Jones industrial average up more than 300 points.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery slumped $4.82 to settle at $115.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its lowest settlement since May 1. During trading, crude dipped as low as $114.90. Prices for gasoline, heating oil and natural gas also dropped.

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