NEW YORK, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- Crude oil for March delivery rose 73 cents to finish at a new record closing high of 100.74 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday.

Earlier in the session, the March contract, which expired Wednesday, hit a record all-time high of 101.32 dollars a barrel.

Early 2008: U.S. analysts say crude oil costs higher

BEIJING, Jan. 2 (Xinhuanet) -- Crude oil prices ended 2007 57 percent higher -- almost 96 U.S. dollars a barrel -- than where they started, leading U.S. analysts to predict geopolitical instability and rising demand will keep upward pressure on energy costs early in 2008.

"There's a good chance this week that we'll see some record highs," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill.Full Story

Yearender: Crude oil to remain in high-price territory

NEW YORK, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Although crude oil prices have temporarily given up conquering the 100-dollar threshold some 20 days before the year is drawing to a close, analysts here believe oil prices will finally cross the 100-dollar mark before hovering around the 90-dollar borderline for a while.

This is mainly because the global demand for oil has exceeded the supply and the situation seems hard to reverse, analysts said.Full Story