Oil Rises Following DOE Report

Crude oil prices climbed to more than $62 a barrel Wednesday following the Energy Department’s weekly inventory report that showed gasoline inventories plunged for a ninth straight week, Bloomberg reported.

Gasoline stockpiles fell by 5.5 million barrels to 200 million barrels last week, more than four times the draw predicted by analysts, CNBC reported.

Supplies have plunged 12% over the past nine weeks, DOE figures showed.

Crude oil futures rose 19 cents to close at $62.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg said. The price is about 9.5% below the same time last year.

Crude inventories last week rose by 700,000 barrels, DOE said. Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 100,000 barrels for the week.