Gas Supply Down; Crude Above $76: Oil Alert

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Oil futures topped $76 in the early afternoon, just after a government report said oil inventories grew less than expected as fuel stockpiles dropped.

On Thursday, the Energy Department reported that oil stockpiles grew by a slender 400,000 barrels last week, bringing the total to 337.8 million barrels. According to analysts surveyed by Platts, many were expecting a much larger 2.2 million barrel build.

But as in prior weekly showings, the headlines will likely center on fuel inventories, with gasoline stocks falling by a marked 5.2 million barrels on refinery cuts. Forecasts showed many expecting those stockpiles to grow by 1.6 million barrels.

Distillate fuel stocks, too, dropped by 1.1 million barrels, while propane and propylene inventories ticked higher by 100,000 barrels.

Still, all of the inventories remain higher compared to averages for this time of year.

Front-month crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which was trading higher just before the report's release, was breaking past the $76 barrier and trading at its highest levels of the year. Light sweet crude was up $1.33 at $76.51 per barrel in the early afternoon.

Elsewhere, while the larger indexes were moving lower, oil equities were mixed. Shares of Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote) and Chevron(CVX Quote) were moving higher, gaining 0.7% and 0.6% each.