 鲜花( 168)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices kicked off the first trading day of 2008 by hitting a new high of $100 a barrel Wednesday on violence in oil-rich Nigeria, the prospect of more interest rate cuts, a halt in Mexican imports and the expectation of yet another drop in U.S. crude supplies. ) u. p* J2 a( }. @6 \6 N6 t1 f
- H' [ ~. h1 a2 q
U.S. crude for February delivery jumped $4.02 to $100 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before slipping to $99.42. The previous trading record was $99.29 set Nov. 20. Oil prices ended 2007 by gaining nearly 60 percent for the year, the largest jump this decade.' w3 {$ ]: j* p, Q B
9 a& S% [# \- N! E) Q) w"This market is really gonna fly," Ira Eckstein, president of Area International Trading Corp, said from the NYMEX floor. # R$ D6 O( f* ~
8 F; j+ Y2 o# q' |1 k& {
In Nigeria, bands of armed men invaded Port Harcourt, the center the oil industry Tuesday, attacking two police stations and raiding the lobby of a major hotel, The Associated Press reported. Four policemen, three civilians and six attackers were killed. The Niger Delta Vigilante Movement claimed responsibility for the attack.
8 b5 }& |1 {+ K- I! e: P4 X P7 t. o+ e5 q( Z
At 2.1 million barrels per day, Nigeria was the world's eighth-largest oil exporter in 2006, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency. |
|