Oil prices climbed above US$65 a barrel in Asian trading Monday on continued concerns that U.S. refiners are not producing enough gasoline to meet peak summer demand. Light, sweet crude for June delivery gained 26 cents to US$65.20 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange midmorning in Singapore. The contract rose 8 cents to settle at US$64.94 Friday after jumping US$2.31 in the previous session. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that gasoline stocks, while increasing to 195.2 million barrels last week, remained well below the average for this time of year. Oil prices were also supported by the political situation in Nigeria, a major oil producer. In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures gained 0.84 cent to US$1.9236 a gallon (3.8 liters) while natural gas prices lost 1.7 cents to US$7.927 per 1,000 cubic feet, the Associated Press reported.
