NEW YORK, D.C., May 22 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices climbed dramatically overnight, gaining more than $4 per barrel and peaking higher than $135 in electronic trading Thursday in New York.
Analysts are hard pressed to explain the quick burst but continue to point to demand in emerging markets as pushing beyond the current supply capacity.
On Thursday morning, prices eased off the $135-a-barrel highs to $133.17 before shooting up again to $133.90.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of heating oil rose 0.0436 to $3.952 per gallon Thursday. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices rose 0.0059 cents to $3.4024 per gallon. Natural gas prices rose 0.026 cents to $11.666 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline reached a record $3.831, up from Wednesday's price of $3.807, AAA said.