Supply Worries Bolster Crude

Concerns over global crude oil supplies energized the commodities market Friday, sending prices higher at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Light sweet crude oil rose 56 cents to $62.37 a barrel. Reformulated gasoline edged up 2 cents to $2.35 a gallon. Heating oil finished 2 cents higher at $1.88 a gallon, and natural gas climbed 18 cents to $7.90 per million British thermal units.

In a monthly report on oil supplies, the International Energy Agency questioned whether worldwide global crude stores are sufficient to feed demand, especially going into this summer's driving season in the U.S.

"According to the IEA numbers, current OPEC production levels might be as much as 1.3 [million barrels per day] short of that actually required to keep the market in balance over the course of the year," analysts at Barclays Capital wrote in a research report.

Violence in Nigeria's oil-producing delta region is also damaging supplies. As much as 850,000 barrels a day, worth one-quarter of Nigeria's production capacity, may be shut in because of the violence, according to Dennis Gartman, publisher of The Gartman Letter.

These new worries are adding to existing strains on U.S. energy supplies caused by prolonged refinery problems. Refinery utilization for the week ended May 4 was 89%, according to the Energy Information Administration. Refinery utilization is usually well above 90% at this time of year and is running below the 10-year average.