Toronto stocks climbed higher Thursday, setting a new record peak for the market, fuelled once again by rocketing crude oil prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index moved up 30.02 points, or 0.25%, to 12,085.65, after hitting a session high of 12,120.98.

The previous record was set Feb. 6 when the index closed at 12,080.53.

The April contract for crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up $1.41, an increase of more than 2%, to US$63.58 a barrel over global instability worries.

EnCana Corp. gained 65¢, or 1.19%, to $55.35.

The materials sector gained 0.12% and the gold sub-sector was up 0.34%.

The benchmark April contract for bullion closed up $1 at US$555.40 an ounce.

Bema Gold Corp. gained 6¢, or 1.21%, to $5.02, while Kinross Gold Corp. lost 12¢, or 1.06%, to $11.18.

In economic news, Statistics Canada reported Canada’s annual inflation rate in February was down to 2.2%, from 2.8% in January.

The Canadian dollar closed up 0.12 of a cent at US86.74¢.

The S&P/TSX Venture composite index gained 14.19 points, or 0.54%, to 2,638.51.

In New York, markets were mixed as economic data suggesting inflation was in check was offset by the higher price of oil.

The Dow Jones Industrial average closed up 43.47 points at 11,253.24, off an intraday high of 11,282.45. The S&P 500 rose 2.31 points to 1,305.33, while the Nasdaq Composite Index fell 12.28 points to 2,299.56.

The U.S. consumer price index posted a 0.1% increase last month, raising hopes the Federal Reserve would end its cycle of rate hikes.