NEW YORK, March 17 (UPI) -- Crude prices climbed above $38 per barrel Wednesday, reaching a 13-year high as the U.S. gasoline supply fell below the 200-million barrel level.
April crude settled 70 cents higher on the day at $38.18 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while April NYMEX gasoline rose a hefty 3.13 cents to reach $1.157 per gallon, its highest settlement since last May.
The increases came after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that gasoline supplies fell 800,000 barrels last week to 199.6 million barrels.
The EIA noted refinery production fell 269,000 barrels per day from the previous week. Crude imports slipped to 9.5 million bpd with below-average volumes coming in from Saudi Arabia.
The report wasn't all gloomy as crude inventories rose 1.6 million barrels and the average retail price for gasoline slipped 1.5 cents.
