Oil prices top $72 as inventories slide

17 September 2009

Crude oil prices reached more than $72 (£43.61) a barrel on Wednesday, as a bigger-than-expected drop in stockpiles raised hopes of an upturn in demand.

The US Energy Information Administration's weekly report showed a 4.7 million-barrel draw in inventories - almost double the decline anticipated by most analysts.

While the data also revealed a rise in gasoline and distillate stocks, including heating oil, the drop in crude supply was enough to spark a significant rise in prices.

US crude for October delivery rose $1.58 to close at $72.51 a barrel, following on from Tuesday's increase of nearly three per cent.

Meanwhile, London Brent posted an overall gain of $1.81 to settle at $71.67.

Oil prices were also boosted by a fall in the value of the dollar, which hit a new one-year low, along with growing optimism that the global recession may soon be over.

Although analysts say this will not be enough to push values above $75 due to weak underlying fundamentals, it should stem any potential big price slide, Reuters reports.

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