Oil firms near record on supply fears

Oil prices firmed on Tuesday within a dollar of record highs as fears over the stability of world supplies persisted following the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd.

A spate of refinery problems in the United States, the world’s largest energy consumer, also supported the market by reviving worries about fuel supplies heading into peak demand in the fourth quarter.

U.S. light sweet crude for September delivery <CLCc1> rose 18 cents to $61.75 barrel, within reach of the peak of $62.30 scaled a day earlier. London Brent crude <LCOc1> lost 4 cents to $60.40 a barrel after also jumping to a record high of $60.98 on Monday.

King Fahd’s death on Monday sparked the latest surge to new peaks, even though his successor Crown Prince Abdullah has been de facto ruler of the world’s largest oil exporter since Fahd suffered a stroke in 1995 and is not expected to change oil or foreign policies.

REUTERS