Oil rises to USD 76.80 a barrel

Brent North Sea crude for January delivery added 42 cents to USD 78.30.

Oil prices fell sharply in US trade yesterday after news of a larger-than-expected rise in gasoline or petrol supplies in the United States,the world8217;s biggest energy consuming nation.

The US government8217;s Department of Energy DoE on Wednesday announced that gasoline reserves jumped by four million barrels. That was far more than the 700,000-barrel increase forecast by analysts.

The DoE added that American crude oil stockpiles leapt by 2.1 million barrels,which was more than twice market expectations.

However,investors in Asia focused today on a bigger-than-expected 1.2-million-barrel drawdown in US distillate stocks,including diesel and heating oil,indicating steady demand ahead of the winter,an analyst said.

The market was expecting a 300,000-barrel decline.

8220;One optimistic thing was the distillate stocks which were down,8221; said Benjamin Westmore,a Melbourne-based minerals and energy economist with the National Australia Bank.