NowPublic Oil-O-Meter

Crude oil prices hit a new record Friday, surging over $147 US a barrel, boosted by concerns over possible disruption to tight global supplies.

Oil hit a new intraday peak of $147.27 US. Light sweet crude for August delivery traded later at $146.85 US a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up by $5.20 from Thursday amid ongoing tensions over Iran's launch of test missiles and the possible renewal of oil-related violence in Nigeria.

Oil prices dived below $140 a barrel on Monday as the US currency firmed and tensions eased over major crude producer Iran, analysts said.

New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, slumped $5.64 to $139.65 a barrel in pit trading. The contract had punched a life-time high of $145.85 on July 3.

Oil continued its record-breaking run on Friday, hitting 145 dollars a barrel for the first time after a US report added to supply worries and the US dollar weakened, analysts said.

Brent North Sea crude for August delivery traded at 145.00 in early Asian trade, 74 cents higher than its record close of 144.26 in London the previous day, when the contract topped 144 dollars for the first time.

Oil hit yet another new high above $142 a barrel today, as shares continued to fall in Europe and Asia and analysts predicted further turmoil ahead.

A barrel of US crude reached a new all-time high of $142.26, nearly 50% higher than the start of the year. Just hours earlier, the head of Opec predicted it could spike as high as $170 in the next few months. London Brent crude also hit previously unexplored heights, at $142.13 a barrel.

With gas crossing the $4-a-gallon mark, the concert business is bracing for hard times. Despite strong lineups, Bonnaroo and Coachella failed to sell out this year. (For Bonnaroo, it was the only non-sellout since the fest launched in 2002.) According to Rolling Stone magazine, even reliable seat-fillers such as Bruce Springsteen and Nine Inch Nails are not selling out every show, and acts from Janet Jackson and Maroon 5 to George Michael and Stevie Wonder will probably face more empty seats than they're used to.

How bad is it? According to a recent article in the live-entertainment trade magazine Venues Today, the Meadowbrook U.S. Cellular Pavilion in Gilford, New Hampshire, is offering discount codes to patrons for each ticket they buy for shows this summer, with the savings adjusted daily to match the national average for a gallon of gas.

The unemployed 30-year-old man drove a black 1995 BMW 3-series sedan onto the lawn outside Frankfurt's convention center grounds at about 7:30 a.m., police spokesman Karlheinz Wagner said.

He then jumped out, emptied a canister of gas over the vehicle and set fire to it, Wagner said.

As in many countries, gasoline prices have risen steadily in Germany; a liter of regular gasoline now costs about euro 1.55, or $9.40 per gallon.

Police were investigating whether the man could be charged with violating German environmental laws with the stunt, Wagner said. Penalties range from fines to five years in prison.

Canada's dollar rose to the highest in more than three weeks as the price of crude oil reached a record high of more than $142 per barrel.