NEW YORK, March 9 (Xinhuanet) -- U.S. crude oil futures on Wednesday leaped to just 2 cents below the all-time record on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

    Crude for April delivery hit 55.65 dollars a barrel, up 1.06 dollars, just two cents below the 55.67-dollar NYMEX record struckon Oct. 25, which was the highest since the exchange introduced crude oil futures trading in March 1983. Enditem