Crude oil rose to a record above $145 a barrel in New York as investors sought an alternative to tumbling stock markets.
Oil has advanced more than 50 percent this year while equity indexes and the U.S. currency declined. European stock prices fell after the standard & Poor's 500 Index touched a two-year low. Economists expect the European Central Bank to raise its benchmark rate today, spurring commodity buying as an inflation hedge against a weaker dollar. Summer maintenance at North Sea oil fields is limiting European crude supplies, further supporting prices.

"With equity markets groaning under the pressure of poor economic data and the U.S. ... Read full article