Oil hits new record on inventory report

NEW YORK – Oil prices hit a new high while other energy futures were mixed Tuesday after the government reported surprisingly large declines in oil inventories and an unexpected increase in gasoline supplies.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery rose 64 cents to $82.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after hitting a new trading high of $82.51 earlier. October gasoline rose 2.53 cents to $2.0856 a gallon.

Heating oil futures fell 0.14 cent to $2.2409 a gallon and Nymex natural gas futures fell 20 cents to $6.368 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, November Brent crude rose 63 cents to $78.22 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration reported that crude inventories fell by 3.8 million barrels during the week ended Sept. 14, more than double the 1.5 million-barrel decline analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, on average, had expected. However, crude inventories remain at the upper end of their average range for this time of year, the EIA said.

AP