LONDON, 6 March 2004 — Oil prices pushed upward again yesterday, reaching levels in New York not seen since before the Iraq war on concerns about low gasoline inventories and violence in heavyweight producer Venezuela.
The price of reference Brent North Sea crude for April delivery climbed 41 cents per barrel to $33.30 in late deals here.
New York’s benchmark light sweet crude April contract gained 54 cents to $37.18 in late trading, levels not seen since March 2002 as a US-British attack on Iraq loomed.
“People are extremely concerned at the gasoline prices at the moment because no one actually really knows the extent of the shortage,” said GNI trader Lee Elliott.
Gasoline, or petrol, stocks fell an estimated 1.4 million barrels to 202 million barrels last week, the US Energy Department said Wednesday.
Traders are worried about whether there will be enough motor fuel available for the US and European summer, when demand for gasoline tends to pick up sharply as motorists take to the roads for vacations.
The market was also fearful of a repeat of last year’s severe stoppages to supplies from Venezuela, where at least eight people have been killed and dozens injured in recent days in unrest over an official refusal to hold a referendum to recall President Hugo Chavez.
Traders were unsettled by news that Venezuela’s United Nations Ambassador Milos Alcalay quit his job Thursday in protest against the Chavez government’s handling of the crisis.
Venezuela is the third-biggest exporter within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, with a production quota of about 2.7 million barrels per day under new ceilings due to take effect next month.
The country accounts for 11.5 percent of OPEC’s total official output and is a major supplier to the United States, the world’s largest oil consumer.
“The recent unrest in OPECs only Latin American member has reminded traders of the strike that began there in late 2002, crippling oil exports,” analysts at the Sucden brokerage firm wrote in a note to clients.
