Oil is rising after the government reported that U.S. stockpiles of crude dropped more than expected last week, while wholesale gasoline demand increased. Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery gained 40 cents to $99.77 per barrel in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil started climbing after the Energy Information Administration's weekly petroleum report showed that crude supplies dropped by 3.4 million barrels last week. Analysts expected a decline of 1.9 million barrels. Most of the drop came from inventories in the Midwest, where a pipeline was shut down temporarily due to leaks. The EIA said gasoline supplies increased last week, though much less than analysts expected.
