New York crude soars above 75 dollars

LONDON (AFP) - Oil prices in New York surged higher yesterday, supported by tight US gasoline supplies, North Sea maintenance and geopolitical tensions, traders said.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, touched 75.35 dollars per barrel -- which was last seen on August 10, 2006. It later stood at 74.19, up 22 cents from Monday's close.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for September delivery fell on profit-taking, losing 45 cents to 75.84 dollars per barrel.

"Any correction in crude (prices) ... will be relatively short-lived as the bias still seems higher," said Man Energy analyst Edward Meir.

On Monday prior to its expiry, the Brent August contract had struck 78.40 dollars per barrel, nudging its record high of 78.64 dollars.

Prices have soared this week as speculators ploughed into the market amid heightened concerns over tight US supplies of gasoline or petrol.

The US Department of Energy was due Wednesday to release its traditional weekly snapshot of energy stockpiles.

Gasoline inventories are under strain at the moment because of the ongoing US driving season, when many Americans take to the roads to reach their summer holiday destinations.

That in turn is expected to put severe pressure on global crude supplies.

"Many analysts believe that there is more potential on the upside for the oil prices, especially with OPEC persistently shrugging off calls for the group to cut existing supply curbs," said Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.

The International Energy Agency has called for the OPEC producers' cartel to pump more crude, notably during the driving season.

However, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has repeatedly stated that it does not plan to raise output.

Leading member Iran said Tuesday there was no need for an emergency OPEC meeting to discuss record high oil prices, saying that the market was already well supplied with crude.

"There will not be an emergency meeting because the price hike is not caused by a shortage of crude oil in the market but a shortage of (refined) product," said Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh, quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency.