Oil Tops $61 Following DOE Inventory Report
Oil rose by the most in six weeks Wednesday following a Department of Energy report that showed declines in crude stockpiles and a modest uptick in diesel demand, Bloomberg reported.
Crude futures rose $2.25 to close the trading day at $61.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg said.
Crude inventories fell 2.8 million barrels last week, while gasoline stockpiles gained 1.4 million barrels, DOE said in its weekly report.
Distillates, which include diesel, rose by 550,000 barrels but showed a 13% single-week increase in demand, the biggest gain since February 2008 and potentially an indicator the recession may be easing, Bloomberg said.
The gasoline inventory gain was below analysts’ forecasts, while the distillate gain was below predictions, Bloomberg reported.
