Crude Oil Closes Above $51 a Barrel
enchmark light sweet crude oil futures rose slightly Thursday to close at $51.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.
The price rose 3 cents in trading Thursday, Bloomberg said, on concerns reduced refinery output could lower supplies.
It followed Wednesday's Department of Energy crude oil inventory report, which showed stocks fell by 1.6 million barrels to 332.4 million for the week ended May 20.
Meanwhile, OPEC boosted its output by almost 1% in April to 30.07 million barrels a day, the highest since October, Bloomberg said.
The current price is 25% higher than the same time last year, Bloomberg said. Crude futures hit an all-time record of $58.28 a barrel on April 4.
