Prices for petroleum acquired some momentum Wednesday, on reports that crude supplies stateside dropped sharply.
Figures released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed that crude supplies declined by 9.9 million barrels for the week ended June 22 -- the largest weekly decline so far this year.
Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts had forecast a fall of 2.3 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a drop of 9.2 million barrels, according to sources.
The EIA also reported that gasoline stockpiles, however, rose by 1.2 million barrels for the week, while distillate stockpiles were unchanged for the week.
The S&P Global Platts survey forecast supply increases of 160,000 barrels for gasoline, and 500,000 barrels for distillate stocks. August crude rose $1.67, or 2.4%, to $72.20 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up from $71.82 before the supply data.
