Crude oil futures surged past $112 a barrel amid lingering concern about Middle East supplies and as the dollar dropped sharply against the euro.
The latest push to a new 2½ year high came as gold futures also reached record highs Friday. Both oil and gold powered ahead as the dollar weakened against the euro after the European Central Bank increased interest rates for the first time since they were slashed in the wake of the 2008-09 global financial crisis.
Light crude for May delivery rose an impressive $2.49 to settle at $112.79 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Over the week rose 4.5% this week.
Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange surged $3.98 to $126.65 a barrel.
Fighting in Libya is curbing oil supplies as much as 1.6m barrels a day from consumers and traders are increasingly concerned that fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi will drag on longer than initially hoped.
Jitters about oil supply disruptions from Nigeria also troubled investors ahead of elections this month. The West African country supplies about 2.2m barrels a day.
Gold for June delivery rallied $ 14.80 at $ 1,474.10 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The precious metal reached an intra day high of $1,476.20 an ounce.
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