Oil passes $140 a barrell - The Age 27-6-08
Oil prices have crossed $US140 a barrel for the first time in New York and London amid a declining dollar and after OPEC warned prices could hit $US170 this year.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, shot up $US5.50 dollars to trade as high as $US140.05 dollars per barrel.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for August jumped $US6.05 dollars to $US140.38 dollars.
The price of crude oil shot up on the new dollar weakness, which makes the dollar-denominated commodity cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies.
The dollar lost ground against the euro a day after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged.
Analysts at Barclays Capital said interest rates in the United States were likely to remain lower than those set by the European Central Bank for the eurozone, making the euro more attractive to investors than the US unit.
The president of the OPEC, Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, said crude could hit a record $US170 dollars this year owing to a weak US currency and geopolitical unrest.
"I predict probably prices of $150 to $170 this summer," Mr Khelil told France 24.
"It (the market) will probably fall a bit towards the end of the year."
The OPEC president added that a weak dollar was the main cause of surging oil prices.
