RECORD HIGH CRUDE PRICE; $115/bbl

On April 16 the US gasoline inventories fell more than expected and crude futures prices soared to record highs.

Input of crude into US refineries was down 113 000 b/d to 14.2 million b/d. Gasoline production declined to 8.8 million b/d. Wall Street analysts were anticipating a 1.8 million bbl increase in commercial US crude inventories, but the Energy Information Administration reported a drop of 2.3 million bbl to 313.7 million bbl during that same period.

All this made the May contract for benchmark sweet, light crudes hit an all-time high of $115.14/bbl in intraday bidding before closing at a record $114.93/bbl, up $1.14 April 16 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.