North Sea Brent crude and gasoil futures soared in London Monday, following news of a fire at the TotalFinaElf SA refinery at Le Havre in France, the country's biggest plant. Since the refinery is one of the largest gas oil-producing plants in Europe, the news caused a sharp rise in gas oil futures values, which, in turn, pulled Brent up.
On the International Petroleum Exchange in London, October Brent futures settled at $32.84/bbl, up by 99� from the previous close. The day's high was $32.85, and the low was $31.95.
September gas oil surged to close at $317.25/tonne, up by $7.25 from its previous settlement. The day's high was $317.50 and the low $311.25.
Also on the IPE, the October natural gas contract closed at the equivalent of $2.91/Mcf, up 2�.
On the Singapore Exchange, the October contract for Brent crude also rose 99� to close at $32.84/bbl, while the November position moved up 98� to $32.40.
There was no trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday, due to a holiday in the US. However, in electronic access trading in New York today, light, sweet crude was fetching $33.93/bbl for the October position and $33.00 for the November contract, both up from the NYMEX close on Friday.
The price of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' basket of seven crudes stood at $32.13/bbl Monday, compared with $31.73 the previous Friday.
