Oil prices hovered above $72 today as worries about a slowing US economy overshadowed an unexpectedly sharp fuel stockdraw.
US crude rose 11 cents to $72.26 a barrel in Globex electronic trading earlier this morning after falling 27 cents yesterday.
London's Brent crude rose 11 cents to $71.10 after shedding 81 cents the previous day.
US crude oil and gasoline inventories fell sharply last week amid a surprise slump in crude imports and refinery utilisation.
Crude oil stocks in the world's top consumer dropped for the fifth consecutive week, by 4.1 million barrels in the week to August 3rd to 340.4 million barrels. Gasoline inventories declined by 1.7 million barrels, which the EIA said was below the lower end of the average range.
US Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said he plans to speak with Opec ministers ahead of their September 11th meeting. But calls for Opec to boost production are likely to face resistance from the producer group.