Quote of note:
"The psychology of the market is that once US$60 is breached, then there is tendency to test how much higher it can go, or how long US$60 can be sustained," said Victor Shum, petroleum analyst at Texas-headquartered energy consultants Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.
"There's a lot of speculative activity. It is a red-hot market," said Shum.
Crude Smashes Record $60 Per Barrel
- By EN-LAI YEOH, Associated Press Writer
Monday, June 27, 2005
(06-27) 01:33 PDT SINGAPORE, (AP) --
The price of crude vaulted to a new high Monday, breaking through the psychologically important US$60 a barrel threshold as concerns mounted that supply would not meet demand, especially in the United States, the world's largest energy consumer.
After settling at US$59.84 a barrel Friday, the front-month August contract crude surged to an intraday record of US$60.46 a barrel in heavy Asian trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a jump of 62 cents from Friday's close.
Other petroleum products also followed crude's rise. Despite a traditional seasonal lull, heating oil was up nearly 2 cents to US$1.6690 a gallon (3.8 liters) while gasoline surged to US$1.6623 a gallon.
Nymex crude had briefly touched the US$60 mark on several occasions last week before Friday's settlement price, the highest since futures began trading on the exchange in 1983.
