NEW YORK — Oil prices set a new intraday trading high of over $102 a barrel yesterday.

On the New York market, light, sweet crude for April delivery briefly spiked above $102, but dropped back to close at $99.64 after the government said stockpiles of crude oil and gasoline rose far more than expected last week. That followed a record high close Tuesday of $100.88.

Analysts say the prices have little to do with oil market fundamentals or supply and demand. Rather, the weak U.S. dollar, combined with new economic data showing rising inflation, has pushed investors into the commodities market, which is generally considered a hedge against inflation.

Kenny Vieth, general manager and partner of A.C.T. Research, explains that every penny change in the price of a gallon of fuel is roughly equal to $2 billion being diverted from discretionary spending on goods to spending on energy.

Because consumer spending makes up about 75 percent of the economy, that’s a big hit. Last month, Vieth predicted that “if we see gasoline prices heading up to $4 a gallon, I think recession is almost pre-ordained.”

Oil prices are not likely to drop anytime soon. Barclays Capital recently predicted that prices could reach $137 a barrel in 2015.

— via Truckinginfo.com