Odds better for $100 oil than Chelsea winning title

Oil prices are twice as likely to reach $100 a barrel by Christmas than Chelsea winning the Premier League this year, bookmakers said on Thursday.

Financial bookmaker Cantor Index put the odds at 5-2 that U.S. crude futures will rally to $100 a barrel by December 25.

U.S. oil prices surged to a lifetime high of $90.07 last Friday, driven by tight supplies, fund buying, a weak dollar and geopolitical tensions.

"This is slightly outside. If we were in this situation five times, it would happen only twice," said Daniel Malsbury, commodities trader for Cantor Index.

Bookmakers said the odds of $100 oil were better than the Indianapolis Colts winning the 2008 Super Bowl.

But it was in parity to any Colorado Rockies baseball player winning this year's World Series Most Valuable Player award.