Oil above $91 on U.S. gasoline supply rise (AP) (12-01-2011)

SINGAPORE – Oil prices were near $91 a barrel on Wednesday in Asia after U.S. gasoline supplies rose unexpectedly.

Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 4 cents to $91.15 a barrel late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that gasoline inventories rose 7 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had forecast an increase of 2.9 million barrels. Inventories of crude rose 57,000 barrels and distillates added 1.5 million barrels, the API said.

Crude rose $1.86, or more than 2 percent, to settle at $91.11 on Tuesday on news a 800-mile (1,300-kilometer) trans-Alaska pipeline, which normally carries about 620,000 barrels a day, remained shut after a leak was discovered Saturday at a North Slope pump station. Oil production on the North Slope was cut by 95 percent.

In other Nymex trading in February contracts, heating oil dropped 0.3 cent to $2.61 a gallon while gasoline futures slid 1.2 cents to $2.47 per gallon.

February natural gas futures gained 2.6 cents to $4.51 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude was up 10 cents to $97.71 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Source: AP