Crude oil prices on Monday spiked more than $25 a barrel – a record one-day dollar increase – in trading ahead of the expiry of the benchmark futures contract and amid concerns that the US dollar would weaken.

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 positions to avoid having to make delivery of physical barrels of oil.