Crude prices extended their march into record high territory Thursday, shooting up more than $2 a barrel as a falling dollar and the prospect of lower interest rates attracted more investors to the oil market.

Retail gasoline prices, meanwhile, rose closer to records above $3 a gallon.

A pair of dismal economic reports drew more money into the oil market, as did Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s comments that the economy is not immediately threatened with stagflation, a combination of economic weakness and rising inflation.