May 9 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded above $124 a barrel in New York after reaching a record yesterday on concern supplies of diesel and gasoline may be insufficient to meet rising consumption during the summer driving season.

Refinery maintenance and production cutbacks amid a decline in refining profits have curbed diesel supplies this year. Royal Dutch Shell Plc's Nigerian crude output has been cut by militant attacks and may return within two weeks, a government official said yesterday.

``Diesel is the main driver for the oil rally right now with the U.S., Europe, Asia and Middle East short of cargoes,'' said Tetsu Emori, a fund manager at Astmax Ltd. in Tokyo. ``The Nigerian shutdown isn't helping as that type of crude oil is good to make gasoline and diesel.''

Crude oil for June delivery climbed as much as 84 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $124.53 a barrel, and traded at $124.32 a barrel at 10:11 a.m. in Singapore in after-hours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil futures reached a record $124.61 yesterday and settled at $123.69 a barrel, the highest close since trading began in 1983. Prices are double the level of a year ago.

A May 7 government report showed that U.S. distillate fuel inventories and refinery operations fell last week. Barclays Capital yesterday raised its forecast for U.S. crude oil prices, citing stronger demand from China and the Middle East.

U.S. distillate stockpiles declined 107,000 barrels to 105.7 million, the Energy Department reported.

``When refiners in Europe and the U.S. cut output on poor refining margins for gasoline, that affected the supply of diesel as well,'' Astmax's Emori said.

Heating Oil

``There's huge diesel demand growth in Asia, which is going to keep pressure on supplies,'' said James Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates, in Galena, Illinois. ``Whenever there's a big rise in one energy market there's an impact on the psychology of the other markets. Also, demand for crude oil will rise as refiners boost distillate output.''

Heating oil for June delivery traded at $3.5170 a gallon at 9:52 a.m. in Singapore after climbing 6.25 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $3.5098 a gallon in New York yesterday, the highest close since trading began in 1978. The contract reached $3.5310, a record intraday price.

Some traders use heating-oil futures to hedge their diesel and jet-fuel purchases.

Gasoline futures for June delivery rose 1.96 cents, or 0.6 percent, to close at a record $3.1378 a gallon in New York yesterday. The contract traded at $3.1493 a gallon at 9:52 a.m. Singapore time.

Brent crude oil for June settlement was at $123.50 a barrel, up 66 cents, on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange at 10:13 a.m. Singapore time.