WTI hits $80 per barrel before slight retreat

The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil contracts for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange remained in record territory Wednesday, hitting $80 per barrel for the first time during the session and trading $1.62 higher at 2:30 pm to $79.85 per barrel.

The gains came after the US Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil stockpiles were 7.1 million barrels lower in the week ending September 9, three times the drop that had been expected to a total of 322.6 million barrels in storage.

Gasoline inventories were also lower, by 700,000 barrels to 190.4 million barrels, while distillates stockpiles were 1.8 million barrels higher during the week to 134 million barrels.

Prices rose even though the International Energy Agency cut its oil demand forecast for the fourth quarter of the year and despite yesterday’s decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to produce half a million barrels per day more starting on November 1.

There were concerns that a new tropical depression in the western Atlantic will strengthen and enter the Gulf of Mexico, possibly threatening oil production facilities there.

At last report, Nymex October gasoline was up 3 cents to $2.01 per gallon, while October heating oil was 4 cents higher to $2.22 per gallon and October natural gas had added 50 cents to $6.43 per million British thermal units.