Crude oil futures climbed above $70 on Friday with concerns over the availability of summer supplies
Crude oil futures climbed above $70 on Friday with concerns over the availability of summer supplies and rising global political tensions helping oil position itself to finish the quarter with a gain of around two per cent.
"The hyper-sensitivity to any supply threat will probably allow the market to hold on to most of its recent gains, as there are a number of potential threats to supply that could develop over the weekend," Michael Fitzpatrick, an analyst at Man Financial, said in a note to clients.
Crude oil for August delivery was last up 58 cents at $70.15 on the New York Mercantile Exchange after reaching $70.75, its strongest level since September 11, 2006.
The contract was trading above last quarter's close of $68.73, up almost eight per cent from the end of May, and more than $1 above last week's close.
The expiration of the July petroleum products at the end of the day's session likely helped exaggerate the gains in product prices. July reformulated gasoline rose 1.13 cents to $2.278 a gallon. July heating oil rose 2.67 cents, or 1.3 per cent, at $2.045 a gallon.
