Oil Continues to Rise, Topping $106 a Barrel
Oil topped $106 a barrel in early trading Thursday following the highest closing price in two and a half years on Wednesday, Bloomberg reported.
Crude futures rose 78 cents Wednesday to finish the trading day at $105.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a 30-month high, as concern rose over Middle Eastern unrest, Bloomberg said.
It was the highest settlement price since Sept. 26, 2008. Oil has risen almost 30% in the past year and about 15% this year, Bloomberg reported.
Diesel slipped a tenth of a cent this week to $3.907, its first decline since late November, the Department of Energy said Monday.
The Middle East concerns have centered around Libya, OPEC’s seventh largest oil producer, where the United States and coalition allies have been engaged in military action against that country’s government since the weekend, Bloomberg reported.
