Oil Gains After U.S. Reports Unexpected Drop in Crude Supplies (Robert Tuttle)

  Oil futures rose after the government reported an unexpected decline in inventories and a drop in imports to the lowest in 17 months.

  By Robert Tuttle

  March 7 (Bloomberg) -- Oil futures rose after the government reported an unexpected decline in inventories and a drop in imports to the lowest in 17 months.

  Supplies of crude oil plunged 4.85 million barrels to 324.2 million barrels last week as imports dipped 6.8 percent to 8.87 million barrels a day, the Energy Department reported today. Oil stockpiles were expected to rise 1.8 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Some refineries have shut units for maintenance to prepare for increased gasoline production.

  ``The big decline was a surprise to everyone,'' said William Adams, chief energy and capital market strategist at LaSalle Futures Group Inc. in Chicago. ``We were expecting that since the refineries were down we just wouldn't be using that crude.''

  Crude oil for April delivery rose $1.08, or 1.8 percent, to $61.77 a barrel at 11:40 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures had traded at $61.07 a barrel before release of the report at 10:30 a.m.

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