Crude oil futures surge on concerns about year-end supplies

Crude oil prices rose sharply Wednesday as brokers concerned about the tight supplies at the end of the year.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude oil futures for July delivery rose 2.63 dollars to settle at 54.60 dollars per barrel, while on London's International Petroleum Exchange, the July Brent crude-oil futures contract climbed 2.54 dollars to end at 53.27 dollars a barrel.

In addition to rising consumption of gasoline, diesel demand was also strong. Brokers concerned that this could limited the buildup of distillate fuel inventories over the next few months, leaving heating oil supplies tight next winter.

It was the seventh straight trading session in which oil futures had risen, lifting prices to their highest level in a month. But the supply-demand fundamentals remained unchanged from two weeks ago, when oil prices were about 8 dollars a barrel cheaper.

The Department of Energy would release its latest weekly petroleum inventories data Thursday. Analysts said the report would have to show substantial growth in supplies to bring prices down.

Source: Xinhua