NEW YORK - Oil rose on Monday, bolstered by the weaker dollar and supply disruptions ahead of the U.S. summer gasoline season.
The U.S. greenback slipped on worries about the gloomy economic outlook for the world's top consumer, boosting oil and other dollar-denominated commodities purchased as a hedge against inflation.
U.S. crude oil futures gained $1.06 to trade at $111.20 a barrel by 1:22 p.m. EDT (1722 GMT), near the record high of $112.21 hit on Wednesday.
London Brent crude rose 70 cents to $109.45, after reaching an all-time high of $109.98 last week.
A supply disruption in Nigeria as well as the temporary shutdown of the Capline pipeline, which carries crude from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Midwest, also supported prices. The U.S. branch of Royal Dutch Shell said operations along the line were restored after the Friday fire.
A fire caused by sabotage at the Eni's Beniboye oil flow station in Nigeria caused the loss of 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil.
"There were some supply issues over the weekend with the Capline leak and the issue with Nigeria," said Mike Zarembski, senior commodities analyst for optionsXpress in Chicago.
"Gasoline is soaring to new highs plus the dollar is still very weak."
U.S. gasoline futures hit fresh highs on Monday as the United States gears up for the summer driving season, when demand traditionally peaks.
The growing U.S. economic problems and high energy prices are hurting demand in the giant economy, and the government now forecasts summer use could drop for the first time in 17 years.
OPEC's head of petroleum market analysis on Saturday told the International Monetary Fund's steering committee that global demand appeared to be softening but added high prices were not driven by supply shortages.
"Oil market fundamentals point to a market which is currently well supplied and the balance is expected to soften further due to lower seasonal demand in the coming months," Mohammad Alipour-Jeddi said in a statement.
The U.S. greenback slipped on worries about the gloomy economic outlook for the world's top consumer, boosting oil and other dollar-denominated commodities purchased as a hedge against inflation.
U.S. crude oil futures gained $1.06 to trade at $111.20 a barrel by 1:22 p.m. EDT (1722 GMT), near the record high of $112.21 hit on Wednesday.
London Brent crude rose 70 cents to $109.45, after reaching an all-time high of $109.98 last week.
A supply disruption in Nigeria as well as the temporary shutdown of the Capline pipeline, which carries crude from the U.S. Gulf Coast to the Midwest, also supported prices. The U.S. branch of Royal Dutch Shell said operations along the line were restored after the Friday fire.
A fire caused by sabotage at the Eni's Beniboye oil flow station in Nigeria caused the loss of 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil.
"There were some supply issues over the weekend with the Capline leak and the issue with Nigeria," said Mike Zarembski, senior commodities analyst for optionsXpress in Chicago.
"Gasoline is soaring to new highs plus the dollar is still very weak."
U.S. gasoline futures hit fresh highs on Monday as the United States gears up for the summer driving season, when demand traditionally peaks.
The growing U.S. economic problems and high energy prices are hurting demand in the giant economy, and the government now forecasts summer use could drop for the first time in 17 years.
OPEC's head of petroleum market analysis on Saturday told the International Monetary Fund's steering committee that global demand appeared to be softening but added high prices were not driven by supply shortages.
"Oil market fundamentals point to a market which is currently well supplied and the balance is expected to soften further due to lower seasonal demand in the coming months," Mohammad Alipour-Jeddi said in a statement.
