NEW YORK, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices climbed above $71 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the government said oil stockpiles had dropped in the week.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude oil inventories fell by 1 million barrels in the week ending Oct. 2.
Crude stockpiles remain above the upper boundary of the average range for this time of year. But downward movement in stockpiles tend to provoke upward movement in prices, even if reserves are flush.
The price of light, sweet crude gained $1.55 cents overnight to $71.36 per barrel. Heating oil prices added 0.0496 cents to $1.837 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline prices rose 0.0514 cents to $1.7749 per gallon. Natural gas prices added 0.085 cents to $4.973 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the national average price for unleaded gasoline was $2.468 per gallon Thursday, up from Wednesday's $2.465, AAA said.
