Crude Oil Closes Over $60 a Barrel for First Time in ’07

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.
Crude oil closed at more than $60 a barrel for the first time this year Wednesday, while the Department of Energy reported Thursday that inventories of both gasoline and distillate fuel saw big decreases last week.Benchmark light sweet crude oil futures for April delivery closed at $60.07 on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday, up $1.22, after reaching as high as $60.63, Bloomberg reported.Oil futures last closed at more than $60 in December, when they were higher than $60 every day of that month.DOE said in its weekly inventory report released Thursday that gasoline stockpiles fell 3.1 million barrels last week, while distillates — which include diesel and heating oil — declined by 5 million barrels.Both figures were bigger draws than analysts had expected, Bloomberg said. Crude inventories rose 3.7 million barrels last week.Gasoline futures, meanwhile, reached a two-month high Wednesday, on reports of higher consumption and falling inventories, Bloomberg reported.