Oil price jumps more than $10 to new record high

Published 12:00 am Wednesday, December 2, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices have shot up more than $10 to a new record above $138 a barrel after a Morgan Stanley analyst predicted prices could hit $150 by the Fourth of July. Traders were also rattled by rising tensions in the Middle East.

The meteoric surge builds on a huge jump on Thursday and sets the stage for the biggest two-day gain in the history of the New York Mercantile Exchange. A further weakening of the dollar helped keep prices high.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery jumped as high as $138.36 on the Nymex, then eased to $137.81, up $10.02.