Oil prices surged on Thursday, briefly touching a record $60 a barrel as dealers worried that continued strong demand growth would strain global production capacity.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery settled at $59.42 a barrel after a gain of $1.33, marking a record close on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where oil futures have been traded since 1983. In London, Brent crude climbed $1.38 to settle at $57.96 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange.
