NEW YORK - The price of Brent North Sea crude oil traded in London broke through the 110-dollar mark for the first time Monday, trading at 110.01 dollars and establishing a new record high.
World oil prices have skyrocketed in recent months amid supply jitters and also in response to a falling US dollar which has encouraged some speculators to buy up more oil supplies.
The 110.01 dollar a barrel level marked a new high for Brent crude traded in London, but New York oil prices have been trending slightly higher this year and surged to record peaks over 112 dollars last week.
Traders said reports of supply disruptions in Nigeria, Africa's key oil producing nation, had stoked London oil prices higher.
Meanwhile, Petroleos Mexicanos, the third largest supplier to the United States, closed two oil export terminals in the Gulf of Mexico due to bad weather.
lo/jjc/mac
04/14/2008 19:10 GMT