Crude rises to new record of $60.46 on supply concerns

Monday, June 27, 2005 | 9:37 a.m.

SINGAPORE -- Crude oil prices jumped to a new high of $60.46 in Asian trading today amid concerns that supplies would not meet demand, especially in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer.

After settling at $59.84 a barrel Friday, the front-month August contract crude smashed through the psychologically important $60 barrier in heavy Asian trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a jump of 62 cents from Friday's close. In midmorning trading, it had fallen back slightly to $63.43.

Other petroleum products followed crude's rise. Despite a traditional seasonal lull, heating oil was up nearly 2 cents to $1.6690 a gallon while gasoline surged to $1.6623 a gallon.

Nymex crude had briefly touched the $60 mark on several occasions last week before Friday's settlement price, the highest since futures began trading on the exchange in 1983.

"The psychology of the market is that once $60 is breached, then there is tendency to test how much higher it can go, or how long $60 can be sustained," said Victor Shum, petroleum analyst at Texas-headquartered energy consultants Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

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