Crude Oil Falls After Topping $57 for First Time

ight sweet crude oil futures receded to close at $56.40 Thursday after rising above $57 a barrel in intraday trading for the first time, Bloomberg reported.

Crude futures hit a new intraday record high of $57.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling, Bloomberg said.

Wednesday’s close of $56.46 set a closing-price record. The previous intraday high, set Oct. 25, was $55.67 a barrel.

Meanwhile, gasoline futures hit an all-time high Thursday on the Nymex, Bloomberg reported, and heating-oil futures also rose in intraday trading.

Diesel and heating oil are both distillate fuels and their prices often parallel each other in cold weather.

In London trading, North Sea Brent crude oil also reached new highs Thursday, hitting $56 a barrel before falling back, AP reported.

PEC warned in a report Thursday that economic growth in the United States, China and Japan would push demand for its oil even higher in the second half of this year, AP said.

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