The jump in oil prices to an intraday high of $130 a barrel was exacerbated by a squeeze on short positions ahead of the expiry at the close of the Nymex October futures. This forced some financial investors to cover their short positions to avoid taking delivery of physical barrels of oil.
It also led an across-the-board rise in commodities prices, with gold prices soaring above $900 an ounce.
The surge in commodities prices as a function of dollar weakness signals the US Federal Reserve faces a delicate balancing act as the government's $700bn rescue of Wall Street banks could complicate its efforts to fight inflation, traders said.