OIL prices rose yesterday after the U.S. government reported inventories fell last week, though supplies remained well above the five-year average.

Benchmark crude for November delivery gained US$1.20 to settle at US$77.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Energy Department said commercial crude inventories decreased by 500,000 barrels to 357.9 million barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration said. The total was about 5.7 percent above year-ago levels.

Gasoline inventories shrank by 3.5 million barrels to 222.6 million barrels, 5.3 percent above year-ago levels. Demand for gasoline over the four weeks that ended Sept. 24 averaged 9.1 million barrels a day, an increase of nearly 1 percent from the same period of 2009.

Inventories of distillate fuel, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.3 million barrels to 173.6 million barrels, which was 1.5 percent above year-ago levels, the government reported.

"The face value of the report looks price supportive. However, even after these draws, we still have huge supply surpluses anywhere you look," said oil analyst Jim Rittersbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates. "Everybody's yawning again, and going back and watching to see what the stock market does."

The oil market has remained stable, with September prices ranging between US$73 a barrel and US$78 a barrel. It's a trend analysts expect to continue as traders wait for signs of an improving economy and stronger demand that would tap into supplies.

Traders have been watching stock markets for clues about the recovery in the months ahead. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off about 40 points in afternoon trading. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ were also lower after worries about Europe resurfaced following protests in Brussels (Belgium), Spain and Ireland over austerity measures aimed at preventing another fiscalcrisis.

In other Nymex trading in October contracts, heating oil rose 6.60 cents to settle at US$2.1905 a gallon and gasoline gained 4.76 cents to settle at US$1.9765 a gallon. Analysts expect both contracts to be active since they expire Thursday. Natural gas for November delivery added 1.1 cents to settle at US$3.962 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude rose US$2.06 to settle at US$80.77 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

• yesterday [´jestədi] n.&ad.昨天；前不久 (初中英语单词)
• barrel [´bærəl] n.(琵琶)桶；圆筒 (初中英语单词)
• energy [´enədʒi] n.活力，精力；能力 (初中英语单词)
• commercial [kə´mə:ʃəl] a.商业的 n.广告节目 (初中英语单词)
• administration [əd,minis´treiʃən] n.管理(事务等)；经营 (初中英语单词)
• anywhere [´eniweə] ad.无论何处；任何地方 (初中英语单词)
• stable [´steibəl] n.马棚 a.稳固的 (初中英语单词)
• economy [i´kɔnəmi] n.经济；机制；组织 (初中英语单词)
• industrial [in´dʌstriəl] a.工业的，产业的 (初中英语单词)
• delivery [di´livəri] n.送交；分娩；交货 (高中英语单词)
• gasoline [´gæsəli:n] n.汽油 (高中英语单词)
• recovery [ri´kʌvəri] n.重获；获得；恢复 (高中英语单词)
• ireland [´aiələnd] n.爱尔兰 (高中英语单词)
• crisis [´kraisis] n.转折点；危机 (高中英语单词)
• gallon [´gælən] n.加伦 (高中英语单词)
• expire [ik´spaiə] vi.终止；截止；死 (高中英语单词)
• brussels [´brʌslz] n.布鲁塞尔 (英语四级单词)
• shrank [ʃræŋk] shrink的过去式 (英语六级单词)
• fiscal [´fiskəl] a.财政的 (英语六级单词)