Gas and oil hit records Monday

New York -- Crude oil prices jumped to more than $117 a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, continuing a steep climb that began about a year ago.

Crude oil cost less than $70 per barrel last April. On Monday the price climbed 46 cents to $117.15 per barrel.

Investors said they are wondering if the price will peak and when, or if, prices will fall.

"I personally think this is the mother of all bubbles," Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy and Economic Research Inc., told The Wall Street Journal.

Heating oil prices rose 0.0279 cents Monday to $3.3202 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices rose 0.0092 cents to $2.9985 per gallon. Natural gas prices rose 0.095 cents to $10.682 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline topped $3.50 for the first time in the United States. Monday's price of $3.503 per gallon was a gain over Sunday's $3.491 per gallon, AAA said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.