LONDON (AFP) — World oil prices climbed on fears that a severe storm is threatening Gulf of Mexico energy installations amid already tight supplies in the United States, analysts said Friday.
The price of Brent North Sea crude for October delivery rose 32 cents to 72.22 dollars per barrel.
New York's main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, gained 36 cents to 73.72 dollars per barrel.
"Given some lingering weather concerns and the fact that we are heading into a (US) long weekend, we could end up on a slightly firmer note," MF Global analyst Edward Meir said.
Oil prices were well underpinned by a potential storm forming in the Atlantic which re-ignited fears that supply from Gulf of Mexico oil installations could be squeezed.
"Its calculated path still takes it to the eastern Caribbean, an area favourable for strengthening and historically a highway to the US or Mexican Gulf," said Petromatrix analyst Olivier Jakob.
A weekly US inventory report released earlier this week lent some support to oil futures. The data showed that gasoline supplies remain well below average and that crude fell by more than the market had expected.
"The situation in gasoline looks particularly alarming," Barclays Capital analysts said Friday. "Demand has remained relentlessly strong, whereas production and imports have failed to keep up with growth in demand in the absence of the necessary price signals."
The Department of Energy said Wednesday that US gasoline, or petrol, inventories dived by 3.6 million barrels last week, sharper than the forecasted 2.5 million barrels.
Motor fuel inventories remain far below normal levels as refiners in the United States have struggled to keep up during the peak demand of the holiday driving season, which began in May and wraps up this weekend with the Labor Day holiday.
Oil traders also tracked wider financial markets to see if another round of risk aversion was on the way. Equities have recently become closely linked to oil and commodities, often considered as risky assets, as concerns over a global credit crunch has engulfed markets.
Weakness in wider financial markets over the past few weeks has triggered several bouts of risk aversion, which in turn has caused oil prices to fall.
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