UPDATE 7-Oil rises towards $102 on weak dollar, Nigeria

(Recasts, updates prices, market activity)

By Alex Lawler

LONDON, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Oil rose towards $102 a barrel on Thursday, trading within sight of its record high, as the U.S. dollar sank to a new low and after militant attacks cut supply from Nigeria, Africa's top exporter.

Investors have pumped cash into commodities in recent weeks, betting on signs that the U.S. Federal Reserve will keep cutting rates to prop up the economy. The dollar fell to a record low versus the euro on Thursday.

"The energy complex is a dollar/inflation story as investors have moved into commodities as a hedge against inflation," said Nauman Barakat, senior vice president at Macquarie Futures USA.

"The ever-weakening dollar, upward inflationary pressures and geopolitical tensions are having a greater impact on the market than the fundamentals."

U.S. crude CLc1 rose $2.25 to $101.88 a barrel by 1610 GMT, having hit a record $102.08 on Wednesday. London Brent crude LCOc1 gained $1.78 to $100.05.

U.S. crude is nearing the inflation-adjusted high of $102.53 hit in 1980, according to data from the International Energy Agency in Paris.

The U.S. dollar dropped to an all-time low versus the euro after U.S. fourth-quarter gross domestic product was revised lower and a report showed a surprisingly big jump in initial weekly jobless claims.