New record close for oil in NY at 56.72 dollars

NEW YORK - Crude oil futures jumped to a new record closing high Friday of 56.72 dollars a barrel as traders remained nervous about supply levels for 2005.
The April contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up 32 cents from Thursday's close, but below the all-time intraday high of 57.60 dollars a barrel.
In London meanwhile, the May contract for Brent North Sea crude rose 53 cents to 55.59 dollars a barrel at the close.
Brent crude had reached a record peak of 56.15 dollars per barrel on Thursday -- the first time it had broken the 56-dollar barrier.
Jamal Qureshi, analyst at PFC Energy, said many traders and speculators are eyeing 60 dollars as the next price target for crude oil.
"The market is well ahead of fundamentals," the analyst said. "We're going to make a run at 60 dollars, but the question is will it go straight to 60" or move in a more gradual way, he commented.
Qureshi said there is "fear for the second half" about whether crude oil supplies will be adequate in the face of surging global demand.

03/18/2005 21:02 GMT