Oil prices jumped today to their best levels for more than two years, as a weak dollar and soaring equities propelled commodities higher, with copper and gold hitting record heights.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in January traded as high as $92.86 a barrel - the best level since October 2008. It slipped later to $91.16, down 29 cents.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for January, hit a similar high point at $90.76 in intraday deals but also fell back, to $88.89 for a loss of 49 cents.
Oil prices were also driven by hopes of stronger demand arising from the recent spell of freezing weather in Europe.
The euro rebounded against the dollar but remained under pressure from euro zone debt crisis concerns. A struggling dollar makes dollar-priced crude cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies, which tends to lead to higher demand and rising prices.
Amid the economic uncertainty surrounding the euro zone, gold hit a fresh record high at $1,431.25 an ounce, dragging sister metal silver to a new 30-year best. And copper soared to a new all-time peak at $9,044 a tonne.
European stock markets posted solid gains today, returning largely to pre-crisis levels, with mining shares boosted by record metals prices and driven by hopes of further stimulus measures for the US economy.
Markets were buoyed as traders mulled the chance of the US Federal Reserve launching a fresh round of monetary stimulus if the world's biggest economy remains stuck in the doldrums.
