New York crude's December contract settled at $54.47 a barrel Wednesday, up six cents, while Brent North Sea crude for December gained 20 cents to $50.72.
The advance came as weekly government data showed distillate stocks, covering diesel and heating oil, fell 1.9 million barrels to 119 million in the week to 15 October, the fifth consecutive weekly decline. A Department of Interior report found only minimal recovery in Gulf of Mexico production at wells shut in by recent hurricanes.
Crude inventories moved the other way, rising 1.2 million barrels to 279.4 million, though the market largely ignored the figure. Analysts said raw crude supply would only become an issue if shortfalls began curtailing refinery output.
OPEC president Purnomo Yusgiantoro called on producers inside and outside the cartel to raise output before the winter heating season. The group had agreed in Vienna the previous month to lift its official ceiling by one million barrels per day to 27 million from 1 November, but the decision left markets unmoved. OPEC meets next in Cairo on 10 December.
Eurozone finance ministers voiced concern about the surge's effect on economic growth, with France pressing for European Union action.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.