Oil prices surged more than 2 percent to set a record on Wednesday, after an unexpectedly large drop in U.S. gasoline stocks added to worries that a gathering storm in the Atlantic could damage oil production platforms.
Crude oil for October delivery settled at $67.32 a barrel, up $1.61, shortly after hitting $67.40, the highest level in 22 years of oil futures trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil hit its previous record, $67.10, earlier this month. London Brent settled $1.36 higher at $66.01 on the International Petroleum Exchange.
Data released Wednesday showed gasoline inventories in the world’s biggest energy consumer tumbled 3.2 million barrels last week, or nearly 2 percent, with two weeks of the peak U.S. driving season to go.
