Oil prices rose over $1 a barrel on Wednesday after the government reported a drop in U.S. crude inventories last week, and analysts said they expect U.S. oil demand to increase as the nation recuperates from Hurricane Katrina.
Light sweet crude for October delivery gained $1.29 to $64.40 a barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. October Brent crude futures on London’s International Petroleum Exchange rose 69 cents to $62.30 a barrel.
Crude inventories fell 6.6 million barrels to 308.4 million in the week ending Sept. 9 from the previous week, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s weekly report released Wednesday. Crude supplies are still about 11 percent higher than a year ago.