NEW YORK (AP) — Crude oil prices rose to within a penny of $114 a barrel yesterday, setting a new record as concerns mounted about global supplies.

Traders honed in on a report by the International Energy Agency that said Russian oil production dropped this year for the first time in a decade. The report raised concerns about whether the key oil-producing nation will have enough supply to help feed growing global demand.

"In an emotionally driven market like we've got now, it just doesn't take much in the way of a headline to prompt a psychological response," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Illinois.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery rose as high as $113.99 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before backing off to $113.75, up $1.99 from Monday's record settlement price of $111.76 a barrel.

Oil's recent run above $100 a barrel has been largely attributed to a steadily depreciating US currency because a weakening dollar prompts investors to seek a safe haven in hard commodities such as oil and gold. The greenback strengthened marginally against the euro yesterday afternoon.

The report from the IEA — the Paris-based energy watchdog for industrialised countries — said Russia, the world's biggest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, averaged 10 million barrels per day from January through March, down one percent from 2007 and the first time production has failed to exceed previous-year figures since 1998. Artyom Konchin, an analyst with Russian investment bank Aton Capital, attributed Russia's oil supply lull to high taxes and insufficient reinvestment into infrastructure.

"It's not that we don't have enough oil," he said. "We just don't have enough capital going into developing the fields."

Crude prices were also supported by reports of a number of supply disruptions.

Attracting the most attention was the closure of Mexico's three main oil-exporting ports on the Gulf Coast because of bad weather starting on Sunday. Only one of the ports remained closed yesterday, according to Mexico's Communications and Transportation Department.

Sundstrom said the closures were significant because they are a major source of US crude.

"Certainly, it's not helpful," he said. "It just shows you how fragile the oil markets are."