Crude Oil Hits New Record, Closing at $67.32 a Barrel

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rude oil prices hit a new record high Wednesday following the Department of Energy’s weekly inventory update and reports that a tropical storm could turn into a hurricane before possibly hitting Florida and the Gulf of Mexico this weekend.

Benchmark light sweet crude oil futures closed at a record closing price of $67.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.61 from Monday’s closing price, Bloomberg reported.

Oil had hit $67.40 a barrel in intraday trading before the market closed, a record, topping the previous all-time high of $67.10, set in intraday Nymex trading on Aug. 12.

DOE said in its weekly report that crude oil inventories rose 1.85 million barrels last week, gasoline stocks fell by 3.25 million barrels and distillates — which include diesel and heating oil — rose by 1.43 million barrels.

The gasoline drawdown was more than double analysts' forecasts of a 1.5 million barrel decline, while the distillate figure was about in line with forecasts, Bloomberg reported.

Crude oil supplies have risen in four consecutive weeks, and stockpiles are 10% higher than a year ago, Bloomberg said.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Katrina was about 200 miles east of Miami, and forecasters said the 11th named storm of the hurricane season could strengthen into a hurricane as it moved on a northeasterly course before reaching Florida’s eastern coast Friday morning.

The National Hurricane Center had Katrina on a track to move into the Gulf of Mexico over the weekend, which would disrupt oil platforms there.

Traders cited concerns over Gulf oil production as a factor in higher oil prices Wednesday, Bloomberg said.