Oil prices steady near record highs

SINGAPORE: Oil prices held steady near record highs in Asian trading today, boosted by a decline in US energy reserves and a weakening dollar that attracted investors to commodities, analysts said.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, was 10 cents lower at USD 114.83 per barrel after a record close of USD 114.93 at the New York Mercantile Exchange yesterday.

In electronic trading after yesterday's session, the price crossed USD 115 for the first time and reached a high of USD 115.21.

Brent North Sea crude for June was six cents higher at USD 112.72, from a record close of USD 112.66 yesterday in London.

London Brent had surged even higher in after-hours trading, where it struck a record peak of USD 112.83.

Both futures contracts also hit record highs on Tuesday in a market worried about tight supplies.

Those concerns were accentuated yesterday by the weekly report from the US Department of Energy that showed US energy stockpiles tumbled in the week ending April 11.

Oil futures also gained support after the dollar plunged to an all-time low against the euro, traders said.

The US dollar this morning traded at 1.5936 to the euro after falling to a record 1.5979 yesterday as two US government economic reports raised the odds of further interest rate cuts ahead.