Crude Oil Hits $47.35 After DOE Says Stockpiles Decline

August 18, 2004 12:00 AM, EDT

The price of crude oil rose to a record $47.35 a barrel on Wednesday morning in New York after the Department of Energy said U.S. supplies declined for a third straight week, Bloomberg reported.

At $47.35, the price of crude oil for September delivery was the highest on the New York Mercantile Exchange since oil began trading in New York in 1983. Futures were up 53% from a year earlier.

By the the close of trading, oil had fallen to $47.27, but that was the highest closing price on record.

New York oil has set intraday records all but one day since July 30. Lingering concerns about crude supplies from Iraq and Russia were also pushing prices higher on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

DOE said U.S. stockpiles fell 1.3 million barrels to 293 million in the week ended Friday. Companies shut platforms in the Gulf of Mexico because of Tropical Storm Bonnie last week, Bloomberg said.

Stockpiles were up 5.1% from a year earlier.

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