NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil prices rose Thursday, extending their record-setting gains as new economic reports and a decision by central banks in Europe to hold interest rates steady sent the dollar to a new low against the euro.
While retailer reports on same-store sales were mixed, home foreclosures jumped in the fourth quarter to an all-time high, according to The Mortgage Bankers Association.
The European Central Bank and Bank of England, meanwhile, decided to leave interest rates unchanged.
Analysts believe the steadily weakening dollar is the reason oil prices have jumped to a number of new inflation-adjusted record highs this week. Crude futures offer a hedge against a falling dollar, and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the dollar is falling.
"This market continues to be based on the dollar," said James Cordier, founder of OptionSellers.com, a Tampa, Fla., trading firm.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery rose 93 cents to $105.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier spiking to a new record of $105.97.
At the pump, meanwhile, gas prices extended their advance toward record levels. The national average price of a gallon of gas rose 0.7 cent overnight to $3.185, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices are following oil higher, and are expected to peak this spring well above last May's record of $3.227 a gallon.
Diesel prices jumped 1.4 cents overnight to a new record national average of $3.71 a gallon. High diesel prices are boosting prices of consumer goods, the vast majority of which are transported by the distillate fuel.
OPEC's decision on Wednesday to hold production steady, and the Energy Department's report that oil inventories rose last week, continued to prompt some investors to buy, analysts said.
Traders also worried about escalating tensions between oil producing countries in Latin America. Following a weekend attack by Colombia on leftist rebels in neighboring Ecuador, Venezuela moved tanks and soldiers to the Colombian border. Ecuador said Monday it had sent 3,200 soldiers to its border with Colombia.
In other Nymex trading, April heating oil futures rose 1.55 cents to $2.9586 a gallon, while April gasoline futures fell 0.81 cents to $2.634 a gallon.
April natural gas futures rose 7.3 cents to $9.814 per 1,000 cubic feet. The Energy Department said inventories fell by 135 billion cubic feet last week, less than analysts had expected.
In London, Brent crude rose 81 cents to $102.45 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Associated Press writers Pablo Gorondi in Budapest and Gillian Wong in Singapore contributed to this report.
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