york mercantile exchange

Oil prices remained near record highs above $145 a barrel in Asia after Saudi Arabia's oil minister suggested his country doesn't plan to boost production.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery was up 23 cents at $145.52 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midafternoon in Singapore.

Crude futures rose to $145.85, a record high, in New York on Thursday before settling at a record finish of $145.29 a barrel.

Oil prices have risen more than 50 percent so far this year.

Oil prices climbed to $142 a barrel Tuesday amid concerns about tensions between Iran and Israel and a weakening dollar.

'You have supply-side concerns, such as the rhetoric on Iran, that will likely keep a floor under prices,' said Victor Shum, an analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

'I don't see much resistance to $150, which could happen in the coming weeks.'

Late afternoon in Singapore, light, sweet crude for August delivery was up $2.00 at $142.00 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Stocks headed for a narrowly mixed open Monday as oil prices set a new trading record and investors awaited a regional manufacturing reading for hints about where the market might be headed after last week's steep sell-off.

Light, sweet crude traded above $143 per barrel for the first time early Monday before pulling back and changing hands up $2.08 at $142.29 in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

China raised prices for fuel by as much as 18 percent on Friday in a move intended to cool the nation's surging energy consumption.

Demand for the energy needed fuel China's booming economy has contributed to unheard of prices for a barrel of oil.

That price pitched downward immediately Thursday. Light, sweet crude for July delivery fell $4.75 to settle at $131.93 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The price increases were announced late Thursday by the National Development and Reform Commission, the government's main economic planning agency.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery hit a trading record of $139.89 a barrel on Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a dramatic surge analysts attributed to the weakening dollar.

Oil prices pulled back Friday after OPEC questioned whether crude can remain so high and the dollar gained against the euro.

Meanwhile, U.S. filling station operators pushed average gas prices deeper into record territory.

Prices at the pump are up nearly 7 cents since crossing the $4 threshold nationwide last weekend.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, benchmark light, sweet crude for July delivery fell $1.88 to settle at $134.86.

Oil prices edged higher Wednesday in Asian trading as the dollar weakened slightly against the euro, but traders said the market will remain volatile and dictated by supply concerns and the currency movement.

Midday in Singapore, light, sweet crude for July delivery was up 57 cents to $132.00 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

That came after the contract sank $3.04 to $131.31 a barrel Tuesday on a recovery in the dollar and prospects of slower demand after the U.S. government slashed its oil consumption projections.

Oil prices dropped Monday, retreating from a record surge late last week, and traders said the market would remain choppy amid jitters about supplies, growing global demand and a weak dollar.

Crude futures made their biggest single-day jump ever Friday, soaring nearly $11 for the day to $138.54 a barrel, a rise of more than 8 percent that battered stocks on Wall Street.

That came after an increase Thursday of almost $5.50, taking oil futures more than 13 percent higher in just two days, easily a record on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Oil prices held steady Tuesday in Asia after closing overnight above $127 for the first time on news that OPEC will not increase its output before its next meeting in September.

'Current prices aren't linked to the law of supply and demand,' said Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil, the current president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to government newspaper El Moudjahid.

Late afternoon in Singapore, light, sweet crude for June delivery was up 10 cents at $127.15 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Gold futures broke above the psychologically key level of $1,000 an ounce Thursday, propelled by ongoing dollar weakness and bleak news from the financial sector.

Early Thursday, gold for April delivery soared to a record high of $1,001.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange for the first time that gold surpassed