Crude oil price hits a 1-year high above $75 a barrel
14 Oct 2009
Crude oil prices crossed the $75-a-barrel mark for the first time in a year in Asian trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange today helped by investor optimism and a weak dollar.
US benchmark sweet light crude for November delivery was up 91 cents at $75.06 by midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange - up from Tuesday's close of $74.15 a barrel and the highest since October 2008.
North Sea Brent crude on the London ICE Futures exchange rose 84 cents to $73.25 a barrel.
Heating oil rose 1.53 cents to $1.94 a gallon on the Nymex trading. November gasoline was up 2.36 cents at $1.86 a gallon and natural gas rose 4.5 cents to $4.63 per 1,000 cubic feet.
The US currency fell to 1.4886 against the euro - the highest since August 2008 - and to 0.011 against the Japanese yen. The yen rose to 89 a dollar from 89.69 a dollar on Tuesday.
Crude prices have been bogged down by high supplies at a time of falling demand. However, oil prices have climbed about $10 a barrel from $65 a barrel in May and analysts expect oil prices to steady around these levels.