Prices continue heady rise

摘要

Oil prices hit new highs for the second straight week on concerns over distillate availability, despite the return of disrupted supplies. Atlantic basin benchmark North Sea Dated rose by 12.37/bl to 119.80/bl. US crude marker WTI rose by 11.17/bl to 123.69/bl. The resumption of ExxonMobil's Nigerian crude production after an eight-day strike and higher US crude stocks failed to take the heat out of the crude rally. US crude stocks rose by 5.7mn bl in the week to 2 May, a bigger increase than expected. But the market fretted over US middle distillate stocks, which defied expectations by declining. Inventories are nearly 13pc lower than the same time last year, fuelling concerns that demand is outpacing supply.