After breaking the $75 a barrel mark Wednesday, crude oil futures settled at $77.58 a barrel Thursday, following a fall in U.S. gasoline stocks and a boost in the equity market

, according to Dow Jones. Oil gained $2.40, or 3.2 percent, from Wednesday, setting a new record high for the year.

On Thursday, oil got as high as $77.97 a barrel, Dow Jones reports. Oil ended the day Wednesday at $75.18 a barrel, after the Dow Jones industrial average broke 10,000 for the first time in a year.

The news comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of Energy releasing its weekly petroleum report, which found that gasoline stocks fell by 5.2 million barrels, below expectations. During the same period in 2008, stocks were up 15.4 million barrels for the fuel.

Meanwhile, distillate stocks, which includes diesel and heating oil, dropped 1.1 million, compared to being up 48.6 million barrels last year.

The momentum of oil is also driven by the weakening of the U.S. dollar, Dow Jones reports. This had made commodities such as oil and gold more attractive to holders of other currencies, according to Reuters.