Oil prices jumped nearly 2% today, touching a two-week high after US government data showed a drop in US crude and product inventories.
US crude rose $1.37 to stand at $77.55 a barrel this evening, after hitting a two-week high of $77.83 earlier. The day's percentage gain was the biggest in 19 days. London Brent traded up $1.67 to $80.38 a barrel, punching through $80 for the first time since August.
US distillate inventories dropped by 1.27 million barrels in the week to September 24, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration, counter to analyst expectations for a 300,000 barrel build.
Petrol stockpiles in the world's top consumer fell by 3.5 million barrels and crude inventories dropped by 475,000 barrels, as stockpiles along the US East Coast fell to the lowest level since 1990.
Oil prices have remained relatively stable so far this year, trading two-thirds of 2010 between $70 and $80 per barrel, a range that oil producers in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have said they favour.
OPEC meets in Vienna next month and is expected to keep its oil production targets unchanged. OPEC crude oil supply has fallen so far this month to the lowest level since November 2009 due to reduced output from Angola and smaller declines in the United Arab Emirates and Iran, a survey showed yesterday.
