Dollar, China data push crude higher

June 02, 2009|Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Oil prices pushed to new highs for the year yesterday on a weak dollar and new data suggesting manufacturing in China has strengthened. Both of those factors helped send energy prices to record highs last summer.

The national average price at the pump this weekend rose above $2.50 for the first time since October. In Massachusetts, the average price for a gallon of self-serve regular rose 8 cents to $2.44.

Benchmark crude for July delivery rose $2.27 to settle at $68.58 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest close since early November. Natural gas futures soared 10 percent.

Brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets said its purchasing managers index rose to 51.2 from April's 50.1 on a 100-point scale, indicating that the world's third-largest economy might be recovering from a slump. Numbers above 50 show an expansion. The state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing reported that its index had eased, but that manufacturing was still expanding somewhat.

Prices at the pump added a penny overnight to rise to $2.51, according to auto club AAA, Wright Express, and Oil Price Information Service. Prices are 8.8 cents higher than a week ago and 45.1 cents higher than a month ago.