The price of oil rose to near US$106 a barrel yesterday, supported by continuing tensions in Egypt and a sharp drop of US crude stockpiles.
Benchmark crude oil for August delivery gained US$1.04 to US$105.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Even with a drop of US$1.60 a barrel Thursday, the price of oil rose US$2.73 this week and is up nearly 10 percent in July.
Oil has risen from around US$97 on July 1, mainly for two reasons. Traders are concerned that unrest in Egypt could affect oil shipments through the Suez Canal, a key shipping lane. And US supplies of oil and gasoline have dropped dramatically in the past two weeks, signaling a rise in demand in the world's largest economy.
Brent crude gained US$1.08 to US$108.81 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
In other energy futures trading on Nymex:
Gasoline futures rose 10 cents, or 3.2 percent, to US$3.12 a gallon, and have risen about 37 cents in July. Natural gas added 3 cents to US$3.64 per 1,000 cubic feet. Heating oil advanced 3 cents to US$3.03 a gallon.