Crude oil futures hit record highs in early morning Asian trading Monday, reaching more than $59 a barrel.
Industry analysts say traders are concerned demand will exceed the capacity of refineries to produce diesel and gasoline in the second half of the year. The recent kidnapping of six oil workers in Nigeria has also contributed to the instability of oil pricing.
On Friday, crude climbed to a new high of $58.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to raise its output quota to 28-million barrels per day, but that move did little to comfort early trading today.
Some information for this report provided by AP and Reuters.