WASHINGTON - Oil prices leapt above $72 a barrel Wednesday, settling at a record high for the third straight day after a government report showed shrinking U.S. gasoline supplies and traders focused on nuclear tensions between Iran and the international community.
Supply constraints in Iraq, Nigeria and the Gulf of Mexico are also pushing oil prices higher, and analysts are predicting more pain at the pump for motorists, who so far appear to be only lightly tapping the brakes on demand.
Light sweet crude for May delivery climbed as high as $72.40 a barrel, before settling at $72.17 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, an increase of 82 cents from the previous day. The contract had risen as high as $71.60 on Tuesday.
Oil analyst John Kilduff of Fimat USA in New York said there would be a "painful runup" in gasoline prices as summer approaches, and he said oil prices could rise as high as $80 a barrel by the end of June. Purchased today, crude for June delivery costs $74 a barrel.
Supply constraints in Iraq, Nigeria and the Gulf of Mexico are also pushing oil prices higher, and analysts are predicting more pain at the pump for motorists, who so far appear to be only lightly tapping the brakes on demand.
Light sweet crude for May delivery climbed as high as $72.40 a barrel, before settling at $72.17 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, an increase of 82 cents from the previous day. The contract had risen as high as $71.60 on Tuesday.
Oil analyst John Kilduff of Fimat USA in New York said there would be a "painful runup" in gasoline prices as summer approaches, and he said oil prices could rise as high as $80 a barrel by the end of June. Purchased today, crude for June delivery costs $74 a barrel.
