Price of WTI slightly lower

Oil prices were slightly lower by midafternoon on Friday. May contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange dropped 25 cents to $63.50 per barrel. May Nymex gasoline was also lower, dropping 3 cents to $2.17 per gallon, while May Nymex heating oil fell 1 cent to $1.90 per gallon. The price of natural gas was 13 cents lower, to $7.79 per million British thermal units.

In remarks during the day, US Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said that he worries more about high prices than he does supply problems. Prices are being driven higher by a number of problems with refineries around the US. An earlier fire at one refinery in Texas means that it will not be back to full capacity until the end of the year, if then, and there are shutdowns reportedly planned for repairs at refineries in California and Texas next month.