Energy Prices Up on Declining Crude Supply

A big drop in U.S. crude oil supplies pushed up energy prices dramatically Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The price of high-quality crude oil for October delivery rose 3.1 percent to its highest level in more than a week, $65.09 per 42-gallon barrel.

Gasoline jumped 2.4 percent to close at $1.9374 per gallon, and heating oil was up 4.6 percent to $1.9249 per gallon.

Natural gas jumped 3.7 percent to settle at $11.166 per million Btu.

The increases reflected an Energy Department report that crude oil inventories in the United States were sharply down last week. However, the department also noted that gasoline inventories were up, a surprising development that may have accounted for the relatively modest rise in gasoline prices.