Crude Oil Rises as U.S. Distillate Fuel Supplies Decline to a Two-Year Low

[Purveyor]

Crude oil climbed after a report showed that U.S. inventories of distillate fuel, a category that includes diesel and heating oil, tumbled to the lowest level in more than two years as consumption increased.

Oil climbed as much as 1.5 percent as the Energy Department said distillate-fuel stockpiles fell 2.04 million barrels to 141.1 million last week. Demand for the fuel rose 10 percent to 3.98 million barrels a day, the report showed. Gasoline stockpiles grew 3.79 million barrels to 209.7 million, the biggest gain since February.

“We’re shrugging off the largest gain in gasoline stocks in a long time because of the big drop on the distillate side,” said Gene McGillian, an analyst and broker at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut. “The market has been range-bound and appears to be trying to decisively break out above $100.”

Crude oil for July delivery rose $1.22, or 1.2 percent, to $100.81 a barrel at 12:10 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures touched a 31 month high of $114.83 a barrel May 2. Prices have gained 47 percent in the past year.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-25/oil-falls-from-one-week-high-in-new-york-as-u-s-gasoline-stockpiles-surge.html