POO surges

Oil jumps 4.4pc

Oil prices climbed to a seven-week high on a combination of falling US inventories and risks to supply in the US and Middle East.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose 4.5 per cent to $US60.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, closing at the highest level since May 22. Brent, the global benchmark, gained 4.4 per cent to $US67.01.

On Wednesday the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude oil inventories decreased by 9.5 million barrels in the week ended July 5. The number exceeded analyst expectations for a 2.4-million-barrel drop in stockpiles, and estimates from the American Petroleum Institute for an 8.1-million-barrel decline.