Oil prices rose Tuesday to a new record above US$118 a barrel, the Associated Press reported. Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose as high as US$118.05 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, eclipsing Monday's all-time high of US$117.83. By midday in Europe, the contract had risen to US$117.77, up 29 cents on Monday's close of US$117.48 a barrel. The May contract expires at the end of trading Tuesday. In London, Brent crude futures added 28 cents to US$114.71 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 0.04 cent to US$3.3110 a gallon (3.8 liters) while gasoline futures lost 0.29 cent to US$2.9762 a gallon. Natural gas futures were unchanged at US$10.733 per 1,000 cubic feet.
