NEW YORK - Oil prices on Thursday set a new high for the year, buoyed by a weaker dollar and the initial drop in unemployment since January.

Benchmark crude for July release was up $2.69 to settle at $68.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil climbed as high as $69.60 previous in the day.

In London, Brent prices raised $2.83 to settle at $68.71 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Oil prices have rallied for three months, and they soared this week to their maximum levels since November. Crude now fetches almost twice its February price, mostly on the expectation that the dismal U.S. economy could be stabilizing.