Oil Prices Steady Near Record Highs

SINGAPORE: Oil prices held steady near record highs in Asian trading on Thursday, boosted by a decline in US energy reserves and a weakening dollar that attracted investors to commodities, analysts said.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, was 10 cents lower at $114.83 per barrel after a record close of $114.93 at the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday.

In electronic trading after Wednesday's session, the price crossed 115 dollars for the first time and reached a high of 115.21.

Brent North Sea crude for June was six cents higher at 112.72, from a record close of 112.66 on Wednesday in London.

London Brent had surged even higher in after-hours trading, where it struck a record peak of $112.83.

Both futures contracts also hit record highs on Tuesday in a market worried about tight supplies.

Those concerns were accentuated on Wednesday by the weekly report from the US Department of Energy that showed US energy stockpiles tumbled in the week ending April 11.

Oil futures also gained support after the dollar plunged to an all-time low against the euro, traders said.

The US dollar on Thursday morning traded at 1.5936 to the euro after falling to a record 1.5979 on Wednesday as two US government economic reports raised the odds of further interest rate cuts ahead.