Oil pierced $110 a barrel yesterday, marking the sixth straight day of record highs, as the dollar sank to new lows and outweighed large increases in US crude inventories.
Investors have raced into commodities over the past month to hedge against inflation and the slumping dollar, sending oil to fresh peaks despite concerns about the economic health of top oil consumer the United States and rising fuel stocks.
US crude settled up $1.17 at $109.92 after racing to an all-time high of $110.20 earlier. London Brent gained $1.02 to settle at $106.27 a barrel, off a record $106.41 hit earlier in the day.
"There has been a huge detachment between price and fundamentals in the energy markets," said Rob Kurzatkowski, futures analyst at optionsXpress.
"It has been more of a dollar play of late."
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