Refinery, shipping troubles send crude oil higher

Crude oil prices were higher on Monday after Neste Oil of Finland said that a diesel unit at one of its refineries will be down through May after a fire damaged it on Friday.

Also sending prices higher was a stoppage of shipping due to fog in the Houston Ship Channel in Texas.

After going as high as $109.48 per barrel during the session, West Texas Intermediate for May delivery closed up $2.78 to $109.01 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while May contracts for Brent crude was $2.24 higher to $107.17 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex May gasoline added 3 cents to $2.78 per gallon while May heating oil was up 9 cents to $3.08 per gallon and May natural gas jumped 47 cents to $9.80 per million British thermal units.

With prices for crude oil heading back toward record territory, the US Secretary of Energy again called on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase production, but OPEC again said that supplies are plentiful and that prices are rising due to other factors, including a weak dollar, not enough refinery capacity, and a number of geopolitical issues.