Oil hits $100 per barrel in New York

The price of crude oil rose to $100 per barrel in New York on Wednesday for the first time in history ahead of the new US Energy Information Administration inventories report, delayed to Thursday due to the New Year’s Day holiday on Tuesday.

After rising to the $100 level, West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery ended the floor session $3.64 higher to $99.62 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Meanwhile, Brent crude was up $3.12 to $97.59 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

The price gains were also helped by reports of violence in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, the center of that African nation’s oil industry and news that several Mexican ports were closed due to bad weather, halting oil exports.

In addition, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries issued a report might not be able to meet oil demand as soon as 2024 unless member nations can increase production capacity.

In the United States, the White House said it will not dip into the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve to help send prices lower.