Crude oil surged 4 percent on Monday as dealers worried rising global demand for diesel would outpace refiners' ability to produce the fuel. U.S. July light sweet crude was up $2.16 to $55.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after a 1.4 percent slide on Friday. London Brent futures, which fell more than $1 on Friday, were $2.08 higher at $54.75 a barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange. The strength tracked big gains in heating oil and gasoil futures as oil traders focused on surging world diesel consumption, which could leave consumers with tight distillate stockpiles ahead of the Northern Hemisphere winter, Reuters said. Heating oil futures, which are the benchmark for pricing distillates like diesel and jet fuel, jumped to a fresh 2-month high near $1.68 a gallon. U.S. diesel demand over the past four weeks has been running more then 6 percent higher than last year, according to the most recent government data, as the trucking industry moves Chinese imports to market from the West Coast. --More 2355 Local Time 2055 GMT
