U.S. crude oil price jumped above 110 dollars a barrel on Thursday, a level unseen since late September of 2008, after the European Central Bank (ECB) announced it will raise the interest rate and Japan was hit by another powerful earthquake.
The ECB decided to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 1.25 percent to fend off inflation, which was in line with analysts' previous expectations, marking its first hike since July 2008.
The U.S. job data bolstered the oil as the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment aid slipped by 10,000 to 382,000 last week, showing the improvement in job markets continued.
Although a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit Japan, which may hurt the country's energy demands, the oil still surged and broke the key level of 110 dollars a barrel in Thursday's trading session.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery advanced 1.47 dollars to settle at 110.30 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for May delivery also rose and last traded above 122 dollars a barrel.
