NEW YORK - Oil prices regained their stunning upward momentum Wednesday, rising as crude's biggest drivers -- a weak dollar and supply concerns -- brought buyers back in force. At the pump, average prices for regular gasoline set a record over $4.05 a gallon.
Oil futures, which were falling a week ago on concerns about declining gasoline consumption, have dramatically reversed course and appear poised to set records of more than $140 a barrel. While the market remains concerned about the effect of high prices on demand, several weeks of falling oil inventories and the dollar's inability to make headway against the euro have combined to turn market sentiment decidedly bullish.
That's bad news for consumers, already struggling with rising prices for food and other goods. Analysts say gas prices could hit a national average of $4.25 a gallon by the July 4th holiday and are unlikely to fall as long as oil prices are surging.
Light, sweet crude rose $5.07, to settle at $136.38 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier trading as high as $138.30.
And as oil prices rebounded, Wall Street tumbled.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 205.99 points, or 1.68 percent, to 12,083.77 -- its lowest close since March 17, when the Dow ended at 11,972.25.
Broader stock indicators also were down. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 22.95, or 1.69 percent, to 1,335.49, and the Nasdaq composite index was off 54.93, or 2.24 percent, to 2,394.01.
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