Oil Nears Record on Cold Northeast NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil prices came within pennies of their record peak on Wednesday before slipping back, as worries over demand growth overshadowed rising stockpile levels in the United States. Cold weather in the U.S. Northeast, the world's largest heating oil market, also helped support red-hot prices, which have surged more than 25 percent since the start of the year. U.S. light crude for prompt-month April delivery (CLc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) on the New York Mercantile Exchange settled up 18 cents to $54.77 a barrel after climbing as high as $55.65, 2 cents below the last autumn's all-time peak. London's Brent crude (LCOc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) rose 54 cents to $53.38 on the International Petroleum Exchange after hitting a new record of $54.30 a barrel. Prices rose despite U.S. Energy Information Administration data showing crude oil stocks were 3.2 million barrels greater last week at 302.6 million barrels -- a fourth straight weekly rise and the biggest stockpile in eight months. "The data is being overshadowed by macro factors -- the weakness of the U.S. dollar, the uptrend on the (technical) charts and OPEC giving no indication it will produce more," said Jim Ritterbusch of Ritterbusch and Associates. "So there is no reason for the funds to part with their recent accumulations of long positions. It will take a lot more than one bearish inventory report," he added. FUNDS FLEE FOREX, EYE TIGHT OIL Strong demand growth from the United States and Asia and lower-than-expected production from countries like Russia have put pressure on world supply this year. Spare capacity from producers in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is also considered tight. The U.S. EIA and the International Energy Agency have recently revised upward their global demand forecasts, including expected consumption from China, which has roared into second place among world energy users. The price rally has also gathered pace as a steep fall in the dollar -- the currency of international oil -- spurred funds to switch money out of foreign exchange and into commodities such as energy, metals and coffee.     Continued ... Quelle "Oil Nears Record on Cold Northeast" : reuters.com Main page for "Oil Nears Record on Cold Northeast"