Crude oil futures prices rose above $51 a barrel on Thursday after an unexpected drop in U.S. crude inventories ahead of the summer driving reason rattled markets.
Light, sweet crude for July delivery climbed 3 cents to settle at $51.01 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Heating oil prices rose about 2 cents to $1.4483 a gallon, while unleaded gas slipped marginally to $1.4478 a gallon. On London’s International Petroleum Exchange, Brent crude for July delivery rose 9 cents to settle at $50.16 a barrel.