Crude Oil over $102 per barrel on Dollar Weakness (Bloomberg) (27-02-2008)

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose to a fresh record as a weakening dollar pushed investors into the commodity market as a hedge against the falling currency.

Futures jumped in New York and London as the dollar fell to an all-time low against the euro and crude oil for April delivery rose as much as $1.20, or 1.2 percent, to $102.08 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract traded at $101.90 at 9:12 a.m. in London.

Brent crude for April settlement climbed as much as $1.06, or 1.1 percent, to $100.53 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange, the highest since trading began in 1988. It traded at $100.45 at 9:09 a.m. in London.

Hedge-fund managers and other large speculators increased net-long positions, or bets on higher oil prices, in the week ended Feb. 19, according to a Commodity Futures Trading Commission report.

OPEC crude-oil supply will fall 200,000 barrels a day, or 0.6 percent, to 32.45 million barrels a day this month, according to preliminary estimates from PetroLogistics Ltd. The group supplied 32.65 million barrels a day in January, data from the Geneva-based tanker-tracking service showed.

Ministers from the 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are scheduled to meet in Vienna on March 5 to discuss oil quotas. OPEC produces more than 40 percent of the world's crude oil.

 Source Bloomberg