Crude Oil Futures Rise After Report of Falling U.S. Inventories

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http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000006&sid=aeVHWSd3_pW0&refer=home

Sept. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose more than 2 percent, the biggest increase in two weeks, after the Energy Department reported a larger-than-expected decline in U.S. inventories.

Crude-oil supplies fell 6.6 million barrels to 308.4 million last week, the third straight weekly decline, as Hurricane Katrina cut output in the Gulf of Mexico. Imports fell 4.2 percent to 9.1 million barrels. Offshore output in the Gulf was down 56 percent, a government report showed yesterday.

``We got a bigger-than-expected decline because offshore production is still down by more than 50 percent and imports were down,'' said Tom Bentz, an oil broker at BNP Paribas Commodity Futures Inc. in New York. ``The shock of Katrina is still being felt.''

Crude oil for October delivery rose $1.49, or 2.2 percent, to $64.50 a barrel at 12:51 p.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures have declined 9 percent since touching a record $70.85 a barrel on Aug. 30, and are 45 percent higher than a year ago.

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