Oil Commodity Prices Highest as Sign Crude Stockpiles in US

Oil prices rose to the highest price in more than three months in New York as signs of shrinking crude stockpiles in the U.S. countered concern that Europe will struggle to contain its debt crisis.

Futures advanced for a fifth day, gaining as much as 0.8 percent. Crude supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, fell 4.4 percent in the first three days of the month, data from DigitalGlobe Inc. showed. Prices also gained amid speculation Iran’s nuclear plans may threaten Middle East stability. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou will resume talks today on forming a government, while Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi faces a vote that will determine if he has the support to stay in power.

“Italy is too big to save, and too big to fail, so whatever happens there will have an impact on sentiment across the board,” said Ole Hansen, senior manager of trading advisory at Saxo Bank A/S in Copenhagen. “Until we have additional news out of Italy on the economic side, it seems technically driven, and also with worries on the supply side.”

Crude for December delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose as much as 79 cents to $96.31 a barrel, the highest price since Aug. 1, and was at $96.13 at 8:58 a.m. London time. Yesterday, the contract advanced $1.26, or 1.3 percent, to $95.52, the highest settlement since July 29. Prices have gained 5.2 percent this year.

Brent oil for December settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange was up 89 cents at $115.45 a barrel. The premium of the European contract to New York crude was at $19.29 a barrel, after widening 7.5 percent yesterday, the most since Sept. 30. The spread settled at a record-high $27.88 on Oct. 14.

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