CRI听力：Oil Prices Hit New Record

Crude futures surged and set new record of near 140 U.S. dollars a barrel Monday morning on a weak dollar.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose 5 dollars to hit 139.9 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a new all-time peak since futures started trading.

Mercantile trader, Anthony Grisanti, from GRZ Energy, predicts it could reach 180 or 190 US dollars a barrel for a peak in oil prices. (Www.hxen.net)

"We've been lucky two years in a row, a major hurricane hasn't hit any oil production facilities or the US mainland. The weather forecasts I've seen mostly takes them into the gulf, so if we're not lucky again, watch out, we could see 180 dollars, 200 dollar a barrel of oil."

The New York Federal Reserved said in a report that the U.S. manufacturing activity contracted in June, which sent the dollar falling against the euro.

The oil prices surged on the news before retreated to the level of 138 dollars a barrel.