Brent crude adds 40 cents

Oil prices were higher Monday despite the highest inventory levels in twenty years in the developed nations of the world on the expectation that high pump prices for gasoline will not keep US holiday drivers off the road over the Independence Day holiday on Tuesday.  While the inventory numbers show that there is no shortage of crude oil, investors are worried about the supply of refined oil products, especially of gasoline and diesel, with stockpiles of those products in the middle of long term averages.

With the New York Mercantile Exchange closed until Wednesday for the holiday, there are no prices for West Texas Intermediate Oil available.  It closed on Friday at $73.85 per barrel, just $1.50 below its record high, sent in May.  August delivery Brent crude on the International Petroleum Exchange in London had gained 40 cents by late afternoon on Monday to $73.91 per barrel.