Oil hits record $100

By Richard Valdmanis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices vaulted to a record $100 a barrel on Wednesday as violence in Nigeria, tight energy stockpiles and a weaker dollar triggered a surge of speculative buying, dealers said.

Oil's climb to the psychologically key triple-digit price helped send stocks tumbling on Wall Street and further darkened an already gloomy economic outlook in the United States, which has been battered by a housing crisis and credit crunch.

"Oil hitting $100 a barrel has sparked some concerns about the consumer and inflation," said Todd Salamone, vice president of research at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

U.S. crude traded once at $100 a barrel, up $4.02, before easing back to settle $3.64 higher at $99.62. It remains below the inflation-adjusted high of $101.70 hit in April 1980, a year after the Iranian revolution.

London Brent crude rose $3.99 to $97.84.

"Oil could rise further from here. It's simple supply-and-demand fundamentals," said Kris Voorspools, energy analyst at Fortis in Brussels.

The White House said it would not open up the nation's emergency crude oil reserve to lower prices. Two members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said the cartel was powerless to bring the market down from its lofty height.

Crude prices jumped 58 percent in 2007, the biggest annual gain this decade. Oil prices have nearly tripled since 2000 -- driven by rising demand in China and other developing countries, tight stockpiles and geopolitical turmoil.