Crude prices end above $70 on supply concerns

• Source: xinhua
• [10:38 June 26 2009]
• Comments

Oil prices ended above $70 a barrel Thursday as one of Royal Dutch Shell's pipeline junction points was attacked by militants in Nigeria, stirring concerns about supplies.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose to $70.93 a barrel before retreating to settle at $70.23 a barrel, trading up $1.56, or 2.3 percent, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude prices moved higher Thursday after the Shell company said one of its pipeline junction points had been shut down because of militants attack in Nigeria, the largest oil producer in Africa. The Nigerian militants have escalated their activities recently, which have forced foreign oil companies, including US oil major Chevron and Italy's Agip, to shut at least 133,000 barrels per day of oil production in the last month.

Oil also gained support from robust performance of the stock market, which increased for a third day after the US Commerce Department said the economy may be better than previously thought.

In London, Brent crude for August delivery rose $1.87 to $70.20 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.