Oil prices held firm above $54 a barrel today as traders feared sustained demand and refinery outages could strain petrol supplies in the United States ahead of the summer holidays.
US light crude rose 10 cents to $54.30 a barrel amid a four-day rally that has added nearly $4 to prices.
Oil is 25 per cent above levels at the end of 2004 and nearing the all-time peak of $58.28 struck earlier this month. A hefty surplus in US crude oil inventories and signs that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is boosting output again have done little to calm markets worried about insufficient transport and heating fuels to meet demand later this year.
But dealers are increasingly anxious about oil product supplies, particularly in the United States, where a series of refinery glitches has raised fears that plants - already operating near capacity - may struggle to sate rising demand.
US gasoline prices jumped nearly four cents yesterday and were steady at $1.62 a gallon today. Their premium to crude oil, called a crack spread, was at nearly $14 a barrel, up more than $2 from a week ago.