A good day: Crude futures spike.
Crude spikes on Nigeria and fire news
US crude futures settled almost 5% higher today on supply jitters after unrest in Nigeria flared up and a fire reduced production at a large Sunoco refinery in Pennsylvania.
On Wall Street, hopes of economic recovery re-emerged and the sentiment spilled over to the oil markets.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June crude settled up $2.69, or 4.77%, at $59.03 a barrel, the highest settlement since $59.33 on 11 November. It traded from
$56.12 to $59.33.
In London, July Brent crude ended up $2.49, or 4.45%, at $58.47 a barrel, trading from $55.91 to $58.86.
"The petroleum industry hit a bullish trifecta ... with a rebound in the equity markets, ongoing violence in the Niger Delta, and a refinery explosion at Sunoco's 178,000-[barrel-per-day] Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, refinery all giving traders a fresh reason to buy," Tim Evans, energy analyst at Citi Futures Perspective said in a Reuters report.
The day's gains come ahead of tomorrow's June contract expiration and after crude fell $2.28 on Friday on concerns about demand and economic recovery.
Nigerian militants said yesterday they had blown up two oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta.
Nigeria's main militant group said on today it would blockade key waterways in the Niger Delta to try to prevent crude oil exports after days of military helicopter and gunboat raids on its camps.
Firefighters battled flames at Sunoco’s oil refinery in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, today after an explosion late yesterday cut fuel production.