Crude Tops $129; Bush Signs SPR Bill Into Law

Oil prices rose to a new record high Tuesday, moving past $129 a barrel for the first time in intraday trading, the Associated Press reported.

Benchmark light, sweet crude oil futures reached as high as $129.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, just a day after closing at a record $127.05, AP said. Futures had hit $127.82 in intraday trading on Friday.

Meanwhile, President Bush signed legislation Monday to stop shipments to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the White House said in a statement.

The action followed overwhelming votes by both houses of Congress last week to stop the more than 70,000 barrels per day of to the SPR.

The crude price surge is coming on supply concerns, after OPEC’s president was quoted as saying his organization will not boost output before its next meeting in September, AP reported.