Crude oil jumped more than 1 dollar to close above 111 dollars a barrel on Monday, boosted by weakening dollar and stronger-than-expected retail data.
Crude oil for May delivery rose 1.62 dollars, or 1.5 percent, to close at 111.76 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It earlier rose to an intraday high of 111.99 dollars a barrel, close to its record high of 112.21 dollars hit last Wednesday.
Analysts believe the weak dollar is the main reason oil prices have risen to record levels this year, and have held above 100 dollars for more than a month.
U.S. retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.2 percent in March, pushed up by a jump in gasoline sales.
Oil prices also rose on word of supply disruptions, including the weekend closure of a 1.2 million barrels a day Royal Dutch Shell PLC pipeline in the Midwest due to a leak. The pipeline has since reopened and is operating at reduced capacity. In Nigeria, Italian energy giant ENI said sabotage has cut crude production from one of its facilities by about 5,000 barrels a day.
Source:Xinhua
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