WTI for June touches $129.60 per barrel

Crude oil prices hit yet another new record Tuesday in New York at $129.60 per barrel after yet another declaration from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that it will not be raising production quotas anytime soon.

This time it was the president of the cartel insisting that production will not go up before OPEC’s next scheduled meeting in September.

At-the-pump prices for gasoline in the United States remained in record territory, with the national average for unleaded regular gasoline now at $3.80 per gallon while diesel fuel was up almost 2 cents overnight to $4.54 per gallon.

Besides earthquake-related demand for diesel in China, there are also signs that the nation is stockpiling diesel ahead of this summer’s Olympic games, to be hosted by Beijing.

June contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude was still up $2.02 to $129.07 per barrel at the end of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for July delivery was up $2.39 to $127.45 per barrel.

At last report, Nymex June gasoline was 5 cents higher to $3.29 per gallon while July heating oil had added 10 cents to $3.78 per gallon and July natural gas jumped 24 cents to $11.36 per million British thermal units.