Oil prices hit record highs on concerns over US gasoline supply

London (Platts)--4Apr2005

Oil prices galloped to a new high in London as traders fretted about the
availability of gasoline in the US, just months ahead of the summer driving
season, when tens of millions of drivers in the world's largest economy embark
on car journeys over long distances to take vacations. An unplanned outage at
Venezuela's 635,000 b/d Amuay refinery has racheted up the tightness in US
gasoline supply, prompting traders on London's International Petroleum
Exchange to bid Brent crude for May delivery up over $1.00 at one point to
$57.60/bbl. May NYMEX crude rose above $58/bbl to set a new high for the front
month of $58.15/bbl at the same time. Concerns persist in the market over
whether current oil supplies would match surging demand, floor dealers said.

This story was originally published in Platts Global Alert
http://www.globalalert.platts.com

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