Crude futures rise early on gasoline supply concerns

Crude oil prices rose early on Thursday on renewed worries about tight US gasoline supplies, but those early gains disappeared by early afternoon in New York, when the price of West Texas Intermediate on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down 1 cent to $59.10 per barrel. Later dated WTI contracts, though, were up.

The highest contract was that for March 2006, which was trading at $62 per barrel, with Contracts from October of this year to those dated June 2007 trading at over $60 per barrel.

In late afternoon trade in London, Brent crude was trading at $58.06 per barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange, up by 5 cents. Brent had traded as high as $58.47 earlier in the day.