Crude hits new record on supply report

Oil prices shot to a new high near $144 a barrel July 2 and went on to a record close, as the U.S. government reported a bigger-than-expected drop in crude stockpiles and the threat of conflict with Iran weighed on traders’ minds.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery rose as high as $143.91 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, then eased back to $143.57.

For the week ending June 27, crude oil inventories fell by 2 million barrels to 299.8 million barrels, 15.3 percent below year-ago levels the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said. Analysts expected a drop of just 1.2 million barrels, according to a Platts survey.

With Middle East tensions building, Iran’s oil minister warned that an attack on his country would provoke a fierce response. Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said, however, that Tehran would not cut oil deliveries and would continue supplying the market even if struck by Israel or the United States.

—The Associated Press