Commodity Online
NEW YORK: World crude oil prices hit another record high on expectations that OPEC will reject calls for more output and the US dollars new slumps against other major currencies

Gains were clipped, however, by a late rebound in the US dollar and expectations that weekly US government inventory data due on Wednesday will show an eighth weekly increase in US crude oil stocks.

US crude oil for April delivery settled 61 cents at $US102.45 a barrel, after an earlier record high of $US103.95.

The US dollar briefly tumbled to lifetime lows against the euro and a basket of major currencies overnight, prompting a wave of buying in oil and other commodities.

Oil held onto some of its gains after better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing data spurred a recovery in the US dollar.

Speculators on the New York Mercantile Exchange increased net long positions in crude oil futures last week to the highest in seven weeks, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released on Friday.