The increase of Oil Price news : "Rises to near $117 as Investors Eye Falling US Gasoline Inventories, OPEC Meeting

Oil prices rose Thursday above $116 a barrel as investors considered a fall in U.S. gasoline inventories and a possible output tightening by OPEC at its next meeting in September.

By midday in Europe, light, sweet crude for October delivery was up $1.37 at $116.93 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.01 overnight to settle at $115.56 a barrel.

The September contract expired Wednesday after rising 45 cents to $114.98 a barrel.

In London, October Brent crude rose $1.47 to $115.83 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The price gains came despite a huge rise in U.S. crude inventories. But not all U.S. fuel supplies were abundant.

Gasoline inventories shrank by a larger-than-expected 6.2 million barrels to below-average levels in the week ended Aug. 15, the U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said Wednesday. Meanwhile, distillate inventories — which include heating oil and diesel fuel — rose by less than expected, the EIA said.

That was enough to offset a hefty 9.4 million barrel rise in U.S. crude stocks last week when the average analyst forecast had been for a 1.7 million barrel increase, according to energy information provider Platts.

“That report had something for everyone,” said David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. “On the one hand, the crude inventory buildup was quite strong, but the gasoline draw was also very prominent.”

Investors are also trying to anticipate the outcome of the next Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting in early September, as supply concerns could rise further if members of the cartel decide to lower their output in response to slower demand. Venezuelan Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said he might propose an output cut at the next OPEC meeting.