Crude oil futures extended gains after the U.S. Energy Department reported an unexpected decline in inventories.
Supplies fell 5.23 million barrels to 349.8 million in the week ended Aug. 5, the Energy Department said today in a weekly report. Inventories were forecast to increase 1.35 million barrels, according to the median of 12 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
Crude oil for September delivery rose $1.88, or 2.4%, to $81.18 U.S. a barrel at 10:35 a.m. ET on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil traded at $80.35 U.S. before the release of the report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.
Oil also increased as products advanced amid outages at Valero Energy Corp.’s Memphis refinery, which has been halted since Aug. 5, and ConocoPhillips’ refinery at Ponca City, Oklahoma, which has been shut since Aug. 8.
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