Oil prices hit yet another record high Friday, toping $116 a barrel on concerns that an earthquake centered in Illinois could affect refinery operations, Bloomberg reported.
Crude oil futures hit $116.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, just a day after topping $115 for the first time, Bloomberg said.
The 5.2 magnitude earthquake was Illinois’ second most powerful on record, Bloomberg said. It was centered near Belmont, Ill., about 125 miles northeast of St. Louis.
Marathon Oil, the largest U.S. refiner in the Midwest, shut a crude oil pipeline as a precaution, following the quake, Bloomberg said.
Oil closed Thursday at $114.86 a barrel on the Nymex, just short of Wednesday’s closing-price record of $114.93, Bloomberg reported.
Concerns about sagging U.S. gasoline supplies ahead of the peak summer demand season helped boost prices this week, the Associated Press reported.
The Energy Department said Wednesday that crude and gasoline inventories fell last week, more than analysts’ forecasts, AP said.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel, gained 100,000 barrels for the week ended Saturday, DOE said.
