Oil Tops $70 a Barrel
Oil futures moved briefly past $70 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since September before receding, after an Energy Department report showed that gasoline and distillate fuel inventories declined last week, Bloomberg reported.
Benchmark light sweet crude oil futures peaked at $70.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest since Sept. 1, before falling back to close at $69.57, which was up 60 cents from Wednesday’s closing price.
Futures closed on the Nymex at a record $77.03 last July but they have not closed at more than $70 since Aug. 31.
In its weekly inventory report, DOE reported that gasoline inventories fell by 700,000 barrels last week. Analysts had called for a 1.1 million-barrel gain, the Associated Press reported.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel, plunged 2.3 million barrels, well below analysts’ calls for a 200,000-barrel gain, AP said. Oil supplies rose by 1.6 million barrels, which was above forecasts, AP said.
Refinery output gained 1.8% to 89.4%, for the week, higher than analysts’ estimates but still below normal rates for this time of year, Bloomberg reported.
