The price of crude oil rose Wednesday as news that the U.S. government is selectively allowing exports of certain light oils offset an unexpected increase in U.S. domestic supplies.
Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery rose 47 cents to US$106.50 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, used to price international oils, dropped 46 cents to US$114 a barrel in London.
In other energy futures trading on the Nymex, wholesale gasoline fell three cents to US$3.09 a U.S. gallon (3.79 litres), heating oil fell one cent to US$3.03 a gallon and natural gas rose two cents to US$4.55 per 1,000 cubic feet.