NEW YORK — Oil futures shot higher Tuesday, closing above $100 for the first time as investors bet that crude prices would keep climbing despite evidence of plentiful supplies and falling demand. At the pump, average gas prices rose further above $3 a gallon.
There was no single driver behind oil’s sharp price jump; investors seized on an explosion at a 67,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Texas, the falling dollar, the possibility that OPEC may cut production next month, the threat of new violence in Nigeria and continuing tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela.
The fact that there was no overriding reason for such a price spike could be a bad omen for consumers already bearing the burdens of high heating costs and falling real estate values. Many recent forecasts have said oil demand growth this year will be less than initially expected, yet prices continue to rise. That suggests they may continue rising as the weakening dollar attracts new investors to the futures market.
And rising oil prices mean higher gas prices, which jumped 1.8 cents to a national average price of $3.032 a gallon Tuesday, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
“As the economy weakens, it’s going to be met with $3.50 and $3.60 gasoline,” said James Cordier, founder of OptionSellers , a Tampa, Fla., trading firm. “And that really spells trouble for the consumer.”
Light, sweet crude for March delivery rose $4.51 to settle at a record $100.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier rising to $100.10, a new trading record. It was the first time since Jan. 3 that oil had been above $100.
