Crude backs off after hitting $90 for first time

2007-10-20 08:11:33

NEW YORK, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Crude-oil futures retreated Friday after hitting 90 U.S. dollars a barrel for the first time.

The November light-crude contract peaked at 90.02 dollars a barrel before slipping back to end down 87 cents at 88.60 dollars on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The jump in oil prices has been fuelled by unprecedented weakness in the dollar, which fell to a record low against the euro on Friday, a factor that has supported all dollar-denominated commodities.

At 90 dollars a barrel, oil is slightly cheaper when adjusted for inflation than the 95 dollars a barrel it would have been in the early 1980s.