Oil edged further above $70 a barrel today as US petroleum inventories fell against expectations during the peak-summer driving season.
London Brent crude, seen as the best benchmark for global oil prices, was up 23 cents at $70.76 a barrel earlier, after rising 35 cents yesterday.
US light, sweet crude gained 32 cents to $69.29 a barrel, following an overnight spike of $1.20. US petrol inventories fell by 700,000 barrels last week, against an expected rise of 1.2 million barrels, government data showed, while demand over the past four weeks is up 1.4 per cent from a year ago.
Distillate supplies fell by 2.3 million barrels, deepening a year-on-year deficit in heating oil stocks.
Refinery operating rates rose last week, tempering price gains as traders expected fuel supplies to recover, but utilisation rates at below 90 per cent remained unusually low for the summer.