Oil pulls back after surging to record
Nervous investors drive crude to further records as dollar declines.

CNN Money
Monday, June 16, 2008

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- As the dollar weakened, oil prices spiked more than $5 a barrel on Monday to a trading record of $139.89 before pulling back.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery was up $2.33 at $137.19 a barrel at 12:11 p.m. ET.

The previous trading high was set on June 6, when oil hit $139.12. On Friday, oil fell $1.88 to settle at $134.86.

The price of oil has risen nearly 40% since January, one consistent factor being weakness in the dollar.

Dollar weakens. Phil Flynn, senior market analyst with Alaron Trading in Chicago, called Monday morning's price jump unusual and said the market may have reacted nervously to news of a weakened dollar.

The dollar fell against the euro Monday. Because oil is traded in dollars, the weakened American currency has contributed to the runup in crude prices.

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