ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

July 5, 2006 4:30 PM, EDT

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

rude oil futures set a record on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday, closing at $75.19 a barrel, two cents over the previous record set on April 21, Bloomberg reported.

The intraday price of $75.40 was five cents over the intraday record, also set in April, Bloomberg said.

The reason for the price boost was in part growing tensions around North Korea’s testing of a long-range missile — which splashed harmlessly into the Sea of Japan — and the geopolitical situation in general, Bloomberg reported, citing oil analysts.

Oil has risen 23% this year, partly on concern over Iran’s nuclear program, which has also drawn concern over potential supply interruptions from that country, OPEC’s second-largest producer.