The price of oil struck a record high $122.81 on Wednesday amid concerns over tight supplies, traders said. New York crude reached the new high despite news that US energy stockpiles had risen by a bigger than expected amount last week. Oil futures rose to a new record Wednesday before waffling after the Energy Department offered a mixed picture of the United States' petroleum supplies. In its weekly inventory report, the department's Energy Information Administration said gasoline demand rose slightly last week while stocks of distillate fuels fell unexpectedly. However, the EIA also said crude inventories rose much more than analysts expected, and gasoline stocks rose when analysts forecast a decline. The result was a market that seesawed as traders were torn between relief that oil and gasoline supplies are rising and worries about rising demand and falling distillate supplies. In the minutes after the report was released, light, sweet crude for June delivery fell by more than a dollar, then shot to a new trading record of $122.81 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In later trading, futures fell 20 cents to $121.64 a barrel.
