 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. - }" _2 j" L7 S+ x% r
5 Q+ ]8 Z; v& A& H" @4 b9 u
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.
6 U# ]: F. U) M: Q- |8 r5 w& m9 C; }0 p
"This market is really gonna fly," Ira Eckstein, president of Area International Trading Corp, said from the NYMEX floor. $ r5 @1 L& n. X
; I' K8 O1 d' H+ d( f+ T: Y
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.
. F9 N3 y3 e0 d- {9 e4 D2 Y
% p5 F$ m# i% m! ^1 Q! M# z lAt 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. |
|