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New York: Oil vaulted to a record $100 a barrel on Wednesday as geopolitical turmoil, tight energy stockpiles in consumer countries, and a weak dollar triggered a flood of speculative buying, dealers said.
Oil's climb to the psychological triple-digit price sent Wall Street tumbling and darkened an already gloomy economic outlook in the United States, battered by a housing crisis.
"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 surged $4.02 to hit $100 a barrel, then eased back to $99.41 by 12:52 EST (1752 GMT). London Brent crude rose $3.78 to $97.63.
Crude oil prices jumped 58 percent in 2007, the biggest annual gain this decade, driven by rising demand in China and other developing countries, tight stockpile levels and increased economic turmoil.
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