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Crude climbs close to record high
How much will we be paying come the Labor Day weekend? By Kevin Morrison Published: July 27 2004 11:17 | Last Updated: July 27th 2004 20:19 Crude oil futures on Tuesday moved within striking distance of the record highs reached last month as the tighter balance between supply and demand helped push prices higher. September Nymex WTI peaked at $42.22 a barrel, or just 23 cents below its peak reached on June 2, before settling at $41.84, a gain of 40 cents in New York. IPE Brent for September delivery added 43 cents to $38.54 a barrel in late London trade, down from its intra-day peak of $38.68 a barrel, but still within sight of the 13œ year high of $39.12. The head of one oil trading desk in London said that prices had been rising gradually over the past two weeks in anticipation that the expected increase in demand in the third quarter from the previous quarter would lead to a tightening of supply as global oil production struggled to keep pace with increased levels of consumption. "There have been no sudden sharp spikes in prices to get back to $42. This rise has been slower and looks more sustained than the previous moves to this level," said the oil trader. The gains in the oil price came ahead of today's release of the weekly US commercial crude inventories, which are expected to show a fall in crude and gasoline inventories. Posted by: Mark Espinola 2004-07-27 |
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