A bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude supplies helped push up oil prices by more than $5 US a barrel on Wednesday.
The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said crude oil supplies dropped last week by 4.6 million barrels, surpassing the 1.4 million-barrel drop forecast by analysts surveyed by energy research firm Platts.
Investors reacted by sending light, sweet crude up by $5.07 to settle at $136.38 US a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The increase in oil was also spurred by more weakness in the U.S. dollar, which traded lower against the euro, the Canadian dollar and the British pound. Crude tends to move higher when the U.S. greenback weakens as investors buy oil as an inflation hedge.
On June 6, crude had its biggest one-day gain in the history of the NYMEX. Crude oil futures soared $10.75 US a barrel to settle at $138.54 US. It traded as high as $139.12 US earlier in the day.
While oil prices marched higher on Wednesday, gasoline prices also gained ground. According to the website GasBuddy.com, which monitors North American pump prices, the average price for a litre of gasoline in Canada today was 137.188 cents, compared to 136.7 cents on Tuesday.
In the United States, the price for a gallon of gasoline rose to $4.062 US from $4.059 US a day earlier.
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