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Oil prices touched record highs in intraday trading today following a further fall in the US Dollar and a disruption to crude oil supplies in the U.S and elsewhere.

The U.S dollar fell to $1.5827 against the Euro at 11:20 am in Tokyo from $1.5832 late in New York yesterday. On April 10 the exchange rate had reached $1.5913, the highest level recored since the Euro was launched in 1999. The decline in the greenback prompted investors to purchase futures contracts to hedge against the falling dollar, leading to a further increase in the price of crude.

Light sweet crude for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange(NYMEX) rose to $112.48 a barrel by midmorning Tuesday in Singapore, surpassing the previous record of $112.21 set last week. The contract closed at $111.76 yesterday, up $1.62 on the previous session.

Brent crude traded on the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) for May delivery rose to a new intraday high of $110.45, up 61 cents on the settlement price reached at the close of trading yesterday. The contract had closed at a record $109.84 on Monday, up $1.09 on the previous day.

News Monday that U.S bank Wachovia Corp had reported hefty first-quarter losses and cut out its dividend made investing in the U.S dollar less attractive to investors.

Minor disruptions to the Capline pipeline — a pipeline run by Royal Dutch Shell Plc which carries 1.2 million barrels of crude per day from the U.S Gulf to the Midwest - was also a contributing factor to the rise in the price of crude. The pipeline was closed at the weekend to repair a minor leak, but has now resumed operations at a slightly reduced capacity.