Oil prices on Wednesday closed at a new record-high near $82 per barrel on Wednesday after a report shows that crude reserves dropped more than expected.

U.S. crude oil for October delivery rose 42 cents to settle at $81.93 per barrel at 3:02 PM on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the third record setting close in a row. Brent crude in London was up 88 cents to $78.47 per barrel.

A U.S. government report from the Energy Information Administration showed a 3.8 million barrels drop to 318.8 million barrels in crude inventory for the week ending September 14. The drop was nearly twice what was expected according to several polls of analysts. Supplies have fallen for 10 of the last 11 weeks.

The EIA also said refineries were operating at a lower-than-expected capacity of 89.6 percent, a drop of 0.9 percent. Analysts had estimated only an 0.5 percentage point drop.

Oil prices rose yesterday as the U.S. Federal Reserve slashed its benchmark funds rate, the overnight rate banks charge each other by 50 basis points to 4.75 percent.

The move was meant to boost the economy in the face of a downturn in the housing and financial markets and resulted in a sharp upturn for stocks and positive results for commodities.

Crude oil