Crude oil closes above $123 per barrel

New York -- Crude oil prices reached a record of $123.55 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday.

Crude oil prices gained $1.71 per barrel on the exchange Wednesday, hitting $123.55 for the close.

U.S. crude oil supplies rose by 325.6 million barrels during the week ending May 2, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported. But, global demand, which the agency projects will grow by 1.2 million barrels a day, focused investor attention on long-term supply flow more than current stockpiles.

The price of heating oil rose 0.0012 cents in late trading to $3.4485 per gallon. The price of reformulated gasoline blendstock rose 0.0046 cents to $3.1228 per gallon. Natural gas prices rose 0.01 cents to $11.328 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline increased to a record $3.618 per gallon from Tuesday's price of $3.61 per gallon, AAA reported.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.