Crude up as gasoline stocks fall

Crude oil prices were up again on Wednesday as gasoline stockpiles in the US fell much more than they had been expected to.

US Department of Energy data revealed that gasoline inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels last week with demand up 1.6 percent over last year at this time and stockpiles down 7 percent from the same time last year.

This convinced analysts that the high price for gasoline isn’t denting demand.

Gasoline futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange had gained 2.45 cents to $1.8825 per gallon at midday.

Meanwhile, crude oil stockpiles grew by 1.8 million barrels during the past week.

Prices for West Texas Intermediate crude oil for October delivery were up $1.61 at the close of trading to $67.32 per barrel, breaking the previous record closing high, set Monday, August 12, by 22 cents.

Meanwhile, Brent crude October contracts on the International Petroleum Exchange gained $1.36 to $66.01 per barrel.

Prices were already on the rise before the US inventories data was released due to a new storm in the Caribbean that seemed likely to reach hurricane strength, with some reports showing it heading for Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.