Oil prices that were jolted by an explosion at a Texas refinery yesterday rebounded today after a firmer dollar and ballooning US crude stocks triggered a selloff of more than $2.
US light crude rose 68 cents to $54.49 a barrel, recouping a third of yesterday's 4 per cent plunge. Prices are still more than $3 below their all-time record hit a week ago.
Brent crude oil futures jumped 76 cents to $53.80 a barrel. Oil markets will be shut on March 25th for Good Friday.
Yesterday's blast that killed 14 people at a gasoline unit in BP's huge Texas City plant, the third-largest in the United States, spurred fears about whether refiners - already running near full throttle - will meet growing gasoline demand this summer.
New York gasoline futures surged to a record high of $1.6080 a gallon in early electronic trade, and later traded at $1.6050 a gallon, up 3.01 cents.
With the US peak-demand driving season two months away, dealers are starting to worry over motor fuel supply, particularly after last week's deep stock draw showed demand has not been deterred by record prices at the pump, analysts say.
Gasoline inventories fell 4.1 million barrels last week and are down 3 percent over two weeks.
They are still 7.5 per cent above last year's levels, but shocks such as BP's refinery blast threaten to sap supplies just when they are needed most.