SINGAPORE — Oil prices climbed to a record above $141 a barrel in Asian trading today as the dollar’s protracted slump prompted investors to flock to oil as a hedge against inflation.

Prices were also lifted Thursday after OPEC’s president said crude prices could rise well above $150 a barrel this year and Libya said it may cut oil production.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose as high as $141.71 a barrel before pulling back to $141.10, up $1.46 in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, mid-afternoon in Singapore. The contract Thursday rose $5.09 to settle at a record $139.64.

The previous trading record for a front-month contract was $139.89, set on June 16.

On Thursday, the dollar slipped against key currencies as U.S. data showed sluggish economic growth and pointed to a struggling labor market. Oil is priced in dollars, and some investors buy oil contracts to protect the value of their assets against accelerating inflation when the dollar falls.

Mugabe seeks big turnout in election

HARARE, Zimbabwe — Para-military police deployed in a park in Zimbabwe’s capital and marshals led voters to polling stations today for an internationally discredited presidential runoff held in an atmosphere of intimidation.

In contrast to the excitement and hope for change that marked the first round of elections in March, a defiant President Robert Mugabe is the only candidate in this round, and the election was expected only to deepen the nation’s political crisis.

Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who withdrew from the runoff after an intense campaign of state-sponsored violence, said the results of the election would “reflect only the fear of the people of Zimbabwe.” Dozens of opposition supporters have been killed and thousands of people injured.

Tsvangirai’s name remains on the ballot because electoral officials say his withdrawal Sunday came too late.

Mugabe, the country’s ruler since independence in 1980, was expected to use violence and intimidation to get people to vote for him in the hope that a massive turnout could demonstrate he still has support and to make his inevitable victory appear credible.