(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-03-04 10:30

NEW YORK -- Crude-oil futures rallied to a record high near US$104 a barrel on Monday, boosted by weak US dollar and continuing investment flows into commodities.

Oil workers are seen at an oil field in Cabimas in Venezuela's western state of Zulia, near Lake Maracaibo, March 1, 2008. [Xinhua]

Crude for April delivery surged US$2.11 to a new all-time high of US$103.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in early morning trading. The front-month contract closed at US$102.45 a barrel, up 61 cents, or 0.7 percent.

The dollar tumbled to all-time lows against the euro and a basket of major currencies Monday before regaining some lost ground after better-than-expected US manufacturing data.

Analysts said that there is no top in sight yet for crude futures because hedge funds are looking at how far the US dollar will fall.

As the dollar fell and the health of the US economy worsened, traders said oil offered an inflation hedge and is attractive to foreign investors who can buy dollar-priced commodities at a relative bargain, they added.

Further support for oil came from signs that members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are not planning to change output policy at their meeting in Vienna this week.

Tensions in the Middle East, South America and Nigeria remain supportive of oil because of their potential to disrupt supply, according to Reuters.

In Nigeria, attackers blew up a police houseboat on Bonny Island, an oil and gas export hub in southern Niger Delta. Tight supplies of heating oil and diesel fuel in Europe also provided some support for oil.