WTI, Brent in new records near $143 per barrel

Crude oil prices entered record territory again on Friday as both New York and London prices set new records when West Texas Intermediate crude soared to $142.99 per barrel and Brent crude went as high as $142.97 during the session.

The gains came on more weakening of the US dollar in relation to the euro and on sentiment that the Federal Reserve will not raise US interest rates any time soon.

August contracts for WTI ended the session 57 cents higher than Thursday’s close at $140.21 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude was most recently up 21 cents to $140.04 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

The price of crude oil is now 46 percent higher than it was at the beginning of the year.

Nymex July gasoline futures dropped just over a cent to $350 per gallon after rising to $3.58 per gallon during the day, a new record, while August heating oil was up 4 cents to $3.95 per gallon and August natural gas dropped 5 cents to $13.20 per million British thermal units.

The at-the-pump price for regular unleaded gasoline in the United States dropped 0.1 cent overnight to $4.06 per gallon on average nationally, but prices are expected to resume their rise if oil prices continue to go up.