March 13 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil futures rose to a record $110.70 a barrel as the sinking value of the dollar attracted investors to commodity markets.

The dollar fell below 100 yen for the first time in more than 12 years today after a Carlyle Group debt fund moved close to collapse, raising concern of more financial turmoil. The tumbling dollar has drawn investors to the crude market as commodities become cheaper for buyers with other currencies.

``It's all down to financial market activity,'' said Simon Wardell, energy research manager with Global Insight Inc. in London. ``The weak dollar makes dollar-oil much cheaper for people.''

Crude oil for April delivery rose as much as 78 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $110.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange today. The contract traded at $110.62 a barrel at 11:55 a.m. London time.

Oil has closed at a record for the past three days. The dollar slid to record lows against the euro and the Swiss franc before government data today that will probably show slowing U.S. retail sales and rising unemployment claims.

``This market is in overdrive and still feels ripe for a correction,'' said Rob Laughlin, senior broker at MF Global Ltd. in London. ``The momentum of this market will ebb as economic gloom heightens and demand slips.''

Brent crude for April settlement rose as much as 52 cents, or 0.5 percent, to a record $106.79 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. The contract traded at $106.69 a barrel at 11:54 a.m. London time.

Retail Sales

U.S. retail sales rose 0.2 percent in February after a 0.3 percent gain in the previous month, according to a Bloomberg survey. The Commerce Department will release the data at 8:30 a.m. today in Washington.

A larger-than-expected increase in U.S. crude stockpiles caused only a momentary drop in prices yesterday, leading some analysts to claim prices are no longer reflecting the realities of demand and supply.

``Current market activity has nothing to do with spot fundamentals,'' said Tom James, head of commodities trading at Liquid Capital Markets Ltd. ``This market is now just struggling to absorb tens of billions of dollars of fresh, mainly long-only investment.''

U.S. crude oil stockpiles climbed 6.18 million barrels to 311.6 million barrels in the week ended March 7, the Energy Department said in its report. A 1.68 million-barrel gain was forecast, according to the median of responses in a Bloomberg News survey. Gasoline inventories rose 1.69 million barrels to 236 million barrels, the highest since 1993.

Inventories of crude in the U.S. in the week ended March 7 were 1.9 percent above the five-year average for the period, the department said. Gasoline stockpiles were 11 percent above the five-year average.

To contact the reporter on this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski in London at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: March 13, 2008 07:56 EDT