Crude Oil Surges to Record above $114 as U.S. Inventories Slump
Crude and gasoline prices rose on Wednesday after a report from the U.S. Energy Department showed declines in supplies the last week.
According to the report released this morning, crude oil inventories fell 2.36 million barrels to 313.7 million barrels last week. Specialists expected crude inventories to rise 1.8 million barrels according to a poll made by Bloomberg.
Crude futures for May delivery surged 0.85 cents or 0.75 percent to $114.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange by 2:23 p.m. Earlier futures touched a new record high of $114.95 a barrel and prices have climbed 79 percent compared to a year ago.
Gasoline supplies fell by 5.5 million barrels last week, the most since August and much more than analysts expected. The Energy Department said there are concerns that gasoline supplies will not be enough to satisfy demand this summer.
Gasoline also rose today. According to the AAA's website, gasoline prices at stations rose 1.3 cents on Wednesday to a record of $3.399 a gallon.
The report from the Energy Department said refineries were working at 81.4 percent of its capacity, the lowest pace registered since October 2005.
Affecting prices today, the dollar registered declines against the euro by falling to $1.5968 versus the European currency and lifted prices of commodities as traders invest into them to compensate for inflation.
Brent crude futures for June rose $1.12 or 1.01 percent to $112.57 on the London's ICE Futures Exchange on Wednesday. The futures contract reached as much as $112.73 today.
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