Reply #3: Oil extends rally toward $68 on gasoline stockdraw [View All]

[ozymandius]

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices extended gains toward $68 a barrel on Thursday after a bigger-than-expected draw in U.S. gasoline stocks reignited worries about summer supplies in the world's top fuel consumer.

U.S. light sweet crude oil futures climbed 48 cents or 0.7 percent to $67.55 a barrel, adding to Wednesday's 1.3 percent surge. The market touched a two-month high of $67.90 a barrel on Monday before succumbing to a brief round of profit taking.

-cut-

Gasoline tanks are now about 1 million barrels above the upper end of the average range, but the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday that stocks could fall sharply before the end of April if more refiners shut for work.

The low inventory level has compounded worries that changing specifications may also create shortages in some areas of the United States, whose gasoline consumption accounts for more than a tenth of the world's oil use.

more...