SINGAPORE (AP) — Oil prices rose to above $97 a barrel Thursday in Asia as a report showed U.S. crude supplies fell more than expected for a second week, suggesting demand is improving. Benchmark oil for August delivery was up 73 cents to $97.38 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude lost 24 cents to settle at $96.65 on Wednesday. In London, Brent crude was steady at $113.62 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. The American Petroleum Institute said late Wednesday that crude inventories fell 3.2 million barrels last week while analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., had predicted a drop of 2.5 million barrels. Inventories of gasoline dropped 1.9 million barrels last week while distillates decreased 1.6 million barrels, the API said. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reports its weekly supply data later Thursday. Some analysts said falling U.S. supplies will likely spark crude producers to boost output, cutting into extra production capacity and supporting prices. "We expect inventory draws will prompt OPEC to increase production, at the expense of spare capacity," Morgan Stanley said in a report. "We remain bullish oil, particularly in the second half." Traders will also be closely watching U.S. June jobs data scheduled to be released Friday. In other Nymex trading in August contracts, heating oil rose 1.6 cents to $2.98 a gallon while gasoline gained 1.8 cents at $3.02 a gallon. Natural gas futures added 2.1 cents at $4.24 per 1,000 cubic feet.
