from Bloomberg:
Crude oil futures extended gains after a U.S. government report showed a bigger-than-forecast drop in supplies of gasoline.
Gasoline inventories fell 5.32 million barrels to 219.7 million in the week ended March 18, the Energy Department said today in a weekly report. Stockpiles were forecast to decline by 2 million barrels, according to the median of 16 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
Inventories of crude oil rose 2.13 million barrels to 352.8 million, the department said. Supplies were forecast to climb by 1.5 million barrels.
Crude oil for May delivery rose 58 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $105.55 a barrel at 10:37 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil traded at $105.45 a barrel before the release of the report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington.
Oil also rose as the U.S. and its allies prepared to attack Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s troops and protesters clashed with government forces in Syria, bolstering concern that supply will be disrupted.
