Oil Continues to Soar, Closes at Over $75 a Barrel

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rude oil prices continued soaring Friday, topping $75 a barrel for the first time, Bloomberg reported.

Benchmark light sweet crude oil futures closed at $75.17 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.48 from Thursday, Bloomberg reported. Futures topped out at $75.35 earlier Friday in intraday trading.

Both the closing price and intraday figures were records; Monday was the first time oil closed above $70. Prices are 39% higher than this time last year, Bloomberg reported.

Crude prices are rising in part because of continuing tension over Iran’s nuclear program and violence in Nigeria, both of which could disrupt shipments, Bloomberg said.

Iran is OPEC’s second-largest and the world’s fourth largest oil producer. Nigeria is the fifth-largest producer within OPEC.

Gasoline prices have also skyrocketed this week, with some stations in Los Angeles and New York topping $4 a gallon, news services reported.

(Click here for previous coverage.)