Crude oil prices jumped nearly $7 this evening after a government report showed stockpiles in the US fell sharply for the fourth week in a row due to flagging imports, intensifying worries of a worsening global crunch.
US crude oil prices rose $6.99 to $138.30 a barrel this evening, within sight of last week's record near $140. London crude rose $6.01 to $137.03 a barrel.
Oil prices have risen nearly seven-fold since 2002 amid rising demand from China and other developing countries, pressuring major consumer countries like the US already hobbled by a housing slowdown and credit crunch.
Representatives of the world's biggest oil consumer and producer nations will meet in Saudi Arabia on June 22 to discuss the oil prices, which producer group OPEC says are rising due to speculation, not a lack of supply.
Today's gains came after the US Energy Information Administration reported that crude stockpiles dropped 4.6 million barrels last week, the fourth consecutive weekly decline amid soft import levels.
Inventories of crude in the world's biggest energy consumer have fallen by 7% since early May and intensified concerns that global oil production is failing to keep pace with rising demand from developing Asian economies.
The report comes after the EIA and the Paris-based International Energy Agency slashed their forecasts for oil production from non-OPEC nations this year amid steep field declines and delays in new projects.
