Crude oil prices increased above a record $99 per barrel on Wednesday as worries about inadequate winter supplies in the Northern Hemisphere and news of refinery problems stoked bullish sentiment.

The falling U.S. dollar and speculation that the U.S. Federal Reserve will continue to cut interest rates also boosted oil prices. Some investors put their money into oil contracts, betting that gains in their price will offset dollar weakness.

Light, sweet crude for January delivery rose to $99.29 a barrel in electronic trading after the New York Mercantile Exchange closed, breaking the previous intraday record of $98.62 set last week. The contract was trading at $98.04 a barrel at midday in Europe. Brent crude for January delivery was little changed at $95.88.

Energy futures got a boost on news of problems at two oil facilities Tuesday. A Valero Energy Corp. refinery in Memphis, Tennessee, that processes 180,000 barrels of crude a day has shut down for 10 days of unplanned maintenance. Also, a Royal Dutch Shell PLC plant that converts bitumen from Alberta's oil sands region into 155,000 barrels a day of synthetic crude oil was temporarily shut down due to a fire.

Beyond these temporary concerns, investors are anxious that as global demand for energy grows, fueled by China and India's rapid development, oil supplies won't be able to keep up.

Currently, oil producers are turning out about 85 million barrels a day, while the U.S. Department of Energy says consumption is between 85 million and 86 million barrels a day.

Oil prices also got support after the Fed said it thinks U.S. economic growth will slow next year to between 1.8 percent and 2.5 percent, less than the Fed's previous projections. It also projected that U.S. inflation should fall next year to between a 1.8 percent and 2.1 percent increase.