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Oil rises to $120 following refinery strike in UK
Oil prices hit an all-time high near $120 a barrel after a weekend refinery strike closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain's North Sea oil to refineries in the U.K.
The shutdown comes amid supply outages in Nigeria that have helped to support oil against a strengthening dollar.
BP closed the Forties Pipeline System, carrying 40 percent of the U.K.'s oil production, after a strike at the Grangemouth refinery cut power supplies.
Five policemen were killed in yesterday's attack in the Niger Delta, where output has dropped by 50 percent since April 25, adding to concern about supplies before the Northern Hemisphere summer driving season.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose to a record $119.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract eased back to $119.04 a barrel by noon in Europe, up 52 cents from Friday's close of $118.52.
Many analysts believe the weakness of the dollar is a bigger factor than supply and demand because the soft dollar draws investors worried about inflation into commodities such as oil and gold. It also makes commodities less expensive for buyers operating in other currencies.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures were flat at $3.310 a gallon while gasoline prices moved up slightly to fetch $3.0568 a gallon. Natural gas futures added over 10 cents to sell at $11.072 per 1,000 cubic feet. Brent crude futures rose 73 cents to $117.07 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
Oil prices hit an all-time high near $120 a barrel after a weekend refinery strike closed a pipeline system that delivers a third of Britain's North Sea oil to refineries in the U.K.
The shutdown comes amid supply outages in Nigeria that have helped to support oil against a strengthening dollar.
BP closed the Forties Pipeline System, carrying 40 percent of the U.K.'s oil production, after a strike at the Grangemouth refinery cut power supplies.
Five policemen were killed in yesterday's attack in the Niger Delta, where output has dropped by 50 percent since April 25, adding to concern about supplies before the Northern Hemisphere summer driving season.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose to a record $119.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract eased back to $119.04 a barrel by noon in Europe, up 52 cents from Friday's close of $118.52.
Many analysts believe the weakness of the dollar is a bigger factor than supply and demand because the soft dollar draws investors worried about inflation into commodities such as oil and gold. It also makes commodities less expensive for buyers operating in other currencies.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures were flat at $3.310 a gallon while gasoline prices moved up slightly to fetch $3.0568 a gallon. Natural gas futures added over 10 cents to sell at $11.072 per 1,000 cubic feet. Brent crude futures rose 73 cents to $117.07 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.