Oil Tops $147 a Barrel; Closes Week Over $145
Crude oil reached a record Friday, jumping $5 to top $147 a barrel for the first time, before retreating to finish the trading week at just over $145, the Associated Press reported.
Oil topped out at a record $147.27 a barrel in early trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling to finish the week at $145.08, a near-record Nymex closing price, Bloomberg reported.
A decline in the U.S. dollar and concerns about an oil worker strike in Brazil contributed to the higher price, as did potential Middle East instability surrounding Iran’s controversial nuclear program, AP said.
Oil gained more than $10 in the past two days, erasing a $9 decline this week that followed last week’s $145.95 record, set July 3. Oil closed at a record closing price of $145.29 that day.
Heating oil futures, a close proxy for diesel, surged on the Nymex to a record over $4.15 a gallon on Friday, AP said.
The Energy Department comes out with its next weekly retail price survey of gasoline and diesel prices on Monday.
