For the second time this week, crude oil set a new record high closing, settling at $113.79 a barrel Tuesday, up $2.03 from Monday's record close of $111.76.
In electronic trading early Tuesday morning, light, sweet crude for May delivery touched a new trading high of $114 a barrel. That's nearly $2 more than the previous intraday high of $112.21 set April 9.
Analysts attribute the latest surge in crude prices in part to weakness in the U.S. dollar. They say as the dollar continues to lose ground against the euro, many investors are flocking to commodities such as oil and gold to preserve the value of their assets.