Oil prices rose to near $99 a barrel today with temperatures falling in the United States and Europe and continued weakness for the U.S. dollar.

The Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday marked the unofficial start of winter in the United States. Among other areas, southeastern New Mexico got up to 9 inches of snow and experienced colder than normal temperatures over the holiday weekend. Snow also fell in Germany over the weekend.

"The onset of cold U.S. weather is going to boost fuel demand," said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery added 75 cents to $98.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midday in Europe.

On Friday, the contract rose 89 cents to settle at $98.18 a barrel, besting the previous settlement record by 15 cents.

January Brent crude added 68 cents to $96.44 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Meanwhile, the dollar hit a new low against the euro Friday as speculation continued that the American credit crisis will lead to another cut in U.S. interest rates.

"The weakened U.S. dollar remains at record low levels and so we've got pricing trying to test $100 again," Shum said.

Oil futures offer a hedge against a weak dollar, and oil futures bought and sold in dollars are more attractive to foreign investors when the U.S. currency is falling.

Nymex crude prices reached a trading record of $99.29 a barrel on Wednesday, and are within the range of inflation-adjusted highs set in early 1980. Depending on how the adjustment is calculated, $38 a barrel then would be worth $96 to $103 or more today.

Shum said that data suggesting OPEC is increasing production more quickly than expected is likely to keep a temporary cap on oil prices.

Oil prices rose 43 percent between August and early November on falling domestic inventories, concerns about supply disruptions overseas and, many analysts argue, speculative buying. But recent forecasts have suggested high prices are cutting demand.