Oil held above $115 a barrel today, just shy of its record high, on concerns over gasoline supplies in the United States weeks before the summer driving season, though this was partly offset by lingering worries over economic growth.
US light crude for May delivery gained 29 cents to $115.15 a barrel by 0623 GMT, after a 7-cent dip in New York the previous day. Oil has been notching records this week, and yesterday struck an intraday high of $115.54 a barrel. London Brent crude rose 32 cents to $112.75 a barrel.
Despite the grim US economic outlook, seasonal gasoline demand may pick up, adding to the stress on the global oil supply chain, analysts said.
US gasoline stocks posted a bigger-than-expected fall of 5.5 million barrels last week, after earlier steep declines.
"Such a precipitous decline in just a few weeks is raising alarms about summer gasoline supply," said Antoine Halff, deputy head of research at Newedge USA, in a report.
Compounding supply woes is China's relentless diesel imports for the six months in a row.