Crude Oil Price Climbs to Highest Level Since 1990
Brent crude oil rose in London to its highest level since the 1990 Gulf War on fears of Middle East violence spreading into Saudi Arabia, raising concern supplies from the world's biggest oil exporter could be disrupted, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Three of four gunmen who killed foreign workers at a Saudi chemical plant Saturday worked for oil-industry companies, Bloomberg said.

Saudi Arabia produced 8.4 million barrels of crude oil a day in March and has an estimated capacity of 10 million barrels a day, Bloomberg said.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, June crude oil was down 7 cents to $38.14 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading, after gaining 83 cents Monday, Bloomberg said. Transport Topics

The long-term outlook for diesel fuel prices is not encouraging, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. The financial newspaper reports that global demand is straining the world's ability to produce and deliver crude oil and gasoline.
The Journal story points out that strong demand growth in the United States, China and other nations is bringing the oil industry closer to the limits of its ability to supply, refine and transport oil.
The world is consuming about 80 million barrels of oil daily, with unused production capacity of about 2.5 million barrels a day, the cushion against supply shocks.
Meanwhile, the world's ability to refine crude oil into gasoline and other finished products is also growing tight, the Journal says. Estimates show that spare oil-refining capacity has narrowed markedly since January 1999, when global capacity showed a surplus over demand of 5.7 million barrels a day.
In addition, transporting crude oil has become more expensive, and officials say the high cost of transport accounts for the increasing premium being paid for oil.
Gasoline prices already are at record levels, averaging nearly $1.80 per gallon nationwide.