•Oil prices fell back Tuesday after hitting a 2007 high yesterday on growing tensions between Iran and the West and concerns over tight US gasoline supplies ahead of the summer driving season. "The ongoing tensions surrounding Iran and refining problems in the US are keeping petroleum futures underpinned. With some market participants expecting another draw in US gasoline stock levels this week, supply fears ahead of the driving season are everywhere," a London-based broker said.

•The current May WTI/Brent spread is at a strong discount of $1.61/barrel, reflecting excess crude supplies in the US Mideast US, a broker said. Traders said the shift in the crude spreads is reflecting fundamentals in the US Midwest, which is awash with light, sweet crude because of refinery outages and increased supply. "Moreover, the unusual development of widening Brent/WTI spreads also reflects WTI's ongoing weakness and fundamental oversupply vis-a-vis Brent," a broker said.

Updated: March 27, 2007