Crude Oil Rises Above $61 a Barrel on Declining Inventories

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rude oil futures rose more than $2 to close above $61 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gaining on news of diminishing U.S. stockpiles, Bloomberg reported.

U.S. crude inventories dropped 3.21 million barrels last week to 332.3 million, the Energy Department reported Wednesday.

Stockpiles had been expected to grow by 3 million barrels, Bloomberg reported.



Crude oil futures rose $2.06 to close at $61.37 on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Wednesday.

Crude futures had not closed above $60 a barrel since Oct. 5.