Oil and Gold Prices Surge as Speculators Bet Billions Shorting the Dollar

Oil reached a 29-month high (yesterday) Monday morning in London and gold hit an intraday record as investors sought to hedge against inflation and traders bet billions shorting the dollar. Brent crude futures contracts in London gained 0.1% yesterday to close at $116.11 a barrel, pushed higher by the Middle East crisis disrupting the oil supply. Crude for April delivery was up 0.9% to $105.36 in Monday afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Fighting in Libya so far has reduced the country's oil output by 1 million barrels per day.