Commodities: Oil breaks $123 a barrel
Oil prices broke $123 on Wednesday, after an initial decline, following a weekly government stockpile report.
Crude for June delivery settled at a record high of $123.53 a barrel, up $1.69 from the previous record. The June contract hit a record trading high of $123.80 earlier in the session.
Oil temporarily fell after the Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories rose by 5.7m barrels from the week ended 2 May. Analysts had pencilled in a rise of around 1.5m barrels.
Gasoline inventories were expected to fall 500,000 barrels. Distillate fuel, which is used to make heating oil and diesel fuel, fell by 100,000 barrels on the week. Analysts had expected distillates to rise by around 1.3m.
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Among precious metals gold for June delivery fell $6.70 to $871 on Wednesday as the dollar gained against major currencies.
The dollar rose following a surprise rise in US productivity while comments from a Federal Reserve official that interest rates must be raised to keep inflation in check also boosted the greenback.
Silver fell 15 cents to $16.71.
