Crude oil futures rose to a new record of $100 a barrel on Thursday after an Energy Department report showed that crude inventories fell by 4 million barrels last week, ahead of the 1.7 million barrel decline analysts had expected.

One day after oil prices briefly touched $100 for the first time, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said gasoline supplies climbed 1.99 million barrels to 207.8 million last week.

According to a Bloomberg News survey, analysts expected a 1.5 million-barrel gain. Refineries operated at 89.4 percent of capacity, up 1.3 percentage points from the previous week.

The department also reported that U.S. gasoline and diesel inventories rose as refineries increased operating rates.

Crude oil for February delivery fell 83 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $98.79 a barrel at 2:11 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier rising to $100.09, a trading record since 1983. Prices are up 69 percent from a year ago.

Gasoline stockpiles are the highest since the week ended March 23, according to the department.

February gasoline fell 2.29 cents to $2.546 a gallon on the Nymex, and February heating oil fell 1.09 cents to $2.7295 a gallon. February natural gas fell 0.02 cent to $7.848 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will meet next month in Vienna to reassess whether an increase in production is needed by the oil producing countries.

OPEC Energy