Gas prices climb over four dollars a gallon at a gas station in Miami Beach, Florida April 23, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters File Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    NEW YORK, May 7 (Xinhua) -- Oil futures surged to break 123 U.S. dollars a barrel Wednesday, despite bearish data on U.S. crude inventories and stronger dollar against major currencies.

    Light, sweet crude for June delivery hit a all-time peak of 123.80 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling slightly to settle at 123.53 dollars, trading up 1.69 dollars.

    The U.S. Energy Department's weekly report shows that oil supplies increased 5.65 million barrels to 325.6 million barrels last week, much more than analysts previously predicted. Gasoline supplies also rose against analysts' forecast of decline.

    The market, however, seemed to focus more on the supply falls of distillate fuels, which include diesel and heating oil, revealed in the report. The market did not react to a stronger dollar either, which was higher against Euro.

    The rally of oil prices fresh highs came a day after investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted that oil will reach 200 dollars in two years. And concerns on supplies in world's major oil exporters continued to linger.

    In London, Brent crude futures for June delivery also set a new record of 122.32 dollars a barrel, 4.33 dollars up.

OPEC daily oil prices set new historic high

    VIENNA, May 7 (Xinhua) -- The daily average oil prices of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Tuesday rebounded vehemently to 114.75 U.S. dollars per barrel (dpb) Wednesday, setting a new daily prices record, said the Vienna-based cartel.

    The daily average prices of OPEC went down from 111.66 dpb on April 28 to 105.99 dpb on May 1 and rebounded slightly to 106.99 dpb on May 2. However, the prices showed a fierce rise by 4.61 dollars to 111.60 dpb Monday and soared vehemently Tuesday by 3.15dollars to 114.75 dpb. Full story

OPEC chief: oil prices would go higher

    BEIJING, April 21 -- OPEC Secretary-General Abdullah el al-Badri said Sunday oil prices would likely go higher and that the group was ready to raise production if the price pressure was due to a shortage of supply -- something he doubted.

    "Oil prices, there is a common understanding that has nothing to do with supply and demand," al-Badri said on the sidelines of an energy conference in Rome.Full Story

Weak dollar not sole reason for high oil prices

    VIENNA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- OPEC's average daily oil prices have set records 16 times since the beginning of this year and soared to 106.65 U.S. dollars per barrel (dpb) Wednesday, the Vienna-based cartel said Thursday.

    Oil prices have surged higher since 2007 and regularly hit new peaks, so that price breaking is no longer news but a "routine" matter.

    International oil market analysts attribute the high prices mainly to the large amount of speculation in the commodity market, inspired by the weak dollar.  Full story

OPEC to maintain world oil demand forecast

    VIENNA, April 15 (Xinhua) -- World oil demand this year is forecast to grow by 1.2 million barrels daily to an average of 87 million barrels per day, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said Tuesday.

    The forecast maintains OPEC's estimation last month, despite soaring global oil prices. Full Story 

Peru confirms over 1 billion barrels of oil reserves

    LIMA, April 16 (Xinhua) -- Petro-Tech Peruana oil company on Wednesday confirmed reserves of 1.132 billion barrels of high quality oil off the coasts of the Peruvian provinces of Piura and Lambayaque.

    Exploration chief of the Argentine capital Petro-Tech Peruana oil enterprise, Enrique Gonzalez, said that the San Miguel oil well alone, in Piura, has 323 million barrels of oil. Full Story

Dollar mixed against major currencies

    New York, April 17 (Xinhua) -- The dollar was lower against the pound but higher against the euro and other major currencies on Thursday.

    Weak economic data has put fresh pressures on the dollar. The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose by 17,000 last week, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday. Full Story