Oil Tops $98 a Barrel
Crude oil rose above $98 a barrel for the first time Wednesday as the dollar slid to a record low and analysts forecast U.S. stockpiles declined for a third week, Bloomberg reported.
The jump came a day after oil futures closed at a record $96.70 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday, with some traders saying the price could reach $100 a barrel, Bloomberg said.
Crude oil rose $1.92, or 2%, to $98.62 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the Nymex, the highest since trading began in 1983, Bloomberg reported.
Diesel fuel reached a record $3.303 a gallon Monday in the wake of soaring crude oil prices, the Department of Energy reported.
DOE is scheduled to release its weekly inventory report for crude oil, gasoline and distillate fuels on Wednesday.
