London-based oil around 100 dollars in Asia

Brent North Sea crude for April delivery rose 28 cents to USD 99.75 a barrel after earlier striking a record USD 100.03 a barrel breaking the USD 100 mark for the first time in after hours electronic trading.

The contract had finished USD 1.78 higher at USD 99.47 on Tuesday in London.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, rose 16 cents to USD 101.04 per barrel after closing up USD 1.65 at a record USD 100.88 a barrel on Tuesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract hit a record USD 101.32 during intra-day trading on 20th February. New York oil reached USD 100 for the first time in early January.

Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore, said grim economic news and weaker equity markets have led to an inflow of funds to commodities, boosting oil prices.

"Crude oil futures are rising in reaction to some negative economic data which came out yesterday in the US," said Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin and Gertz energy consultants in Singapore.

"With the US dollar reaching new lows against the euro and data that indicates rising inflation in the US, investors are moving money into commodities." he added.

Source: DDNEWS