Oil hit a record $103.95 a barrel on Monday, as the dollar plunged and expectations hardened that Opec ministers will leave production levels unchanged when they meet in Vienna on Wednesday.

On some measures, oil closed higher in inflation-adjusted terms than its previous peak in April 1980, at the height of the second great oil shock. Then, oil prices surged to a level which equates to $103.76 a barrel in 2008 dollars.