Oil Closes at Record Just Short of $141 a Barrel

Oil closed at a record just short of $141 a barrel on Tuesday, following an International Energy Agency report said supplies may lag behind demand for the next five years, Bloomberg reported.

The $140.97 closing price, up 97 cents from Monday’s close, topped Friday’s record close of $140.21 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.

Oil reached an overall record $143.67 in pre-market Nymex trading on Monday.

Oil prices have risen almost 50% this year, Bloomberg said.

Prices also rose on concerns that Israel may attack Iran’s nuclear reactors, prompting supply concerns, Bloomberg said. Iran is the No. 2 oil supplier within OPEC, behind Saudi Arabia.