Oil Futures Continue Ascent

Updated from 11:26 a.m. EST

Oil futures cleared $63 a barrel Thursday as traders focused on bigger-than-expected drops in fuel inventories, colder weather and rising speculation that OPEC will trim production.

Light, sweet crude gained 67 cents to settle at a 10-week high of $63.13 a barrel. Wholesale unleaded gasoline added 14 cents to $1.81 a gallon and heating oil rose 1 cent to $1.81 a gallon. Trading was choppy because of the expiration of both contracts.

Inventories of gasoline tumbled by 600,000 barrels, distillates dropped by 1 million barrels and crude fell by 300,000 barrels last week. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had expected gasoline and distillates to have risen last week as more refiners returned to full production. ...