Crude oil rose to a record above $145 a barrel in New York as investors sought an alternative to tumbling stock markets.

Oil has advanced more than 50 percent this year while equity indexes and the US currency declined. European stock prices fell after the Standard & Poor's 500 Index touched a two-year low.

European Central Bank raised its benchmark rate yesterday, spurring commodity buying as an inflation hedge against a weaker dollar. Summer maintenance at North Sea oil fields is limiting European crude supplies, further supporting prices.