Oil crosses 136 dollars

NEW YORK - Crude oil hit 136 dollars a barrel Friday for the first time in New York trade, jumping more than eight dollars in a day as the market responded to a sharp decline in the dollar.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, touched an all-time high of 136.62 dollars a barrel, up 8.83 dollars from Thursday's close.

That far outstripped its previous all-time peak of 135.09 dollars struck on on May 22.

The dollar slumped after the US government reported the US unemployment rate jumped unexpectedly by a half percentage point to 5.5 percent last month, the steepest increase in more than two decades.

The weakening dollar boosts oil prices because it makes crude relatively cheaper for buyers using other currencies, analysts said.

Source: www.abs-cbnnews.com