Oil Hovers Near $102 a Barrel

Iraq fighting, low gas supplies and weak dollar boost price
By Jim O'Neill,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 26, 2008 6:16 AM CDT
Oil Hovers Near $102 a Barrel
A gas station displays its prices on Tuesday, March 11, 2007, in Kahului, Hawaii. While the price of oil soars above $100 a barrel, most Americans dread the day they will have to pay $4. On this tropical island and a few stations in California, $4 gas has already arrived, straining the pocketbooks of...   (AP Photo/Hugh E. Gentry)

Concern about potential supply disruptions in Iraq and American gasoline reserves pushed oil prices up for the second day in a row, despite expected news from the Energy Department that crude supplies in the US had rebounded, reports the Associated Press. The US dollar’s continued depreciation against a slew of currencies also helped inflate the price.

In overnight trading, oil hovered near $102, with light, sweet crude at $101.74 in Asian electronic trading, up 52 cents. Oil prices have risen 62% from a year ago, and traded as high as $111.80 last week. "The weak US dollar continues to prop up oil prices due to financial investors engaging in this inflation play," said an energy analyst. (More crude oil stories.)

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