March 22, 2007	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 2, 1428

LONDON, March 21: Oil prices rose on Wednesday after a larger-than-expected drop in gasoline supplies in top fuel consumer the United States before the summer driving season.

A weekly US government report showed gasoline stocks fell 3.4 million barrels last week. Analysts had expected a 1.7 million-barrel fall. But a big jump in crude oil supplies limited gains.

“I’m concerned by the gasoline stocks decline,” said Jason Schenker, economist at Wachovia Corporation in North Carolina.

“This is really going to be critical.” US crude was trading up 34 cents at $59.59 a barrel by 1754 GMT. London's Brent was up 53 cents at $60.73.

After falling to a six-week low at the end of last week, oil remained under pressure from concern about the health of the economies of the world’s two top oil consumers, the United States and China.

Traders are focused increasingly on supplies of gasoline in the United States in the spring and summer, when demand rises.

Gasoline futures, which hit a seven-month high of $1.985 a gallon on Tuesday, were down 0.19 cents to $1.944 a gallon as some investors took profits, limiting crude’s rally.

Helping support prices was news that BP Plc cut rates to the gasoline-making fluid catalytic cracking unit at its Texas City refinery, a source familiar with refinery operations said.

Besides the drop in gasoline stocks, the report from the US Energy Information Administration showed a 1.7 million barrel fall in distillates, which include diesel, more than expected.

It also said crude oil inventories rose by 4 million barrels, much more than the 800,000 barrel increase expected.—AFP