Oil Jumps on DOE Inventory Data

Oil has picked up steam on this morning’s weekly crude inventories data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, showing that the nation’s crude oil inventories declined by 4.9 million barrels last week, well above the 3.7 million barrel drawdown expected.

Light sweet crude futures for delivery in February rose $1.87 to $76.27 per barrel.

Oil stocks were mixed in response, with ExxonMobil (XOM) off 15 cents, or 0.2%, at $68.42, Chevron (CVX) off 23 cents, or 0.3%, at $77.26, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) up 60 cents, or 1%, at $60.54. The U.S. Oil Fund ETF (USO) is up $1.15, or 3%, at $37.71.