New York — Oil prices surged more than $1 a barrel on Thursday, lifted by concern about a steep drop in exports from Venezuela and concerns oil cartel Opec may not raise production at its meeting on June 22. Brent crude futures were up $1.48 at $76.84 a barrel by 4.40pm GMT. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude rose $1.16 to $65.88 a barrel. Futures contracts for petrol and ultra-low sulphur diesel strengthened after reports of a fire at Citgo Petroleum’s Corpus Christi, Texas refinery. Crude prices got an early lift on concerns about exports from Venezuela. Gains grew when Algeria’s oil minister indicated that Opec would focus on balancing the market rather than on rolling back production caps. "They’re all seeming to push back on the Saudis’ push to raise production," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital Management in New York. "With this more than a 10% [price] fall, they may reconsider things as we come closer to the meeting." Opec member Venezuela, threatened with US...
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