OIL surged above $73 a barrel yesterday after a larger than expected drop in US crude supplies and fears that a gathering storm in the Atlantic could disrupt output in the world’s largest energy consumer.

US crude futures rose $1,14 to $73,52 a barrel by midafternoon, adding to a 76c gain the previous session. London Brent crude climbed 90c to $71,41 a barrel.

US crude stocks fell 5,2-million barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration said, surpassing analysts’ expectations for a 2,3-million barrel drop.

“People are going react to this bullishly. We are at a critical point, the economy needs prices to go down,” said Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover.

Domestic fuel stocks fell a larger than expected 1,1-million barrels, while distillates rose 200000 barrels.

A developing tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico added to bullish sentiment. Tropical Depression 5 was expected to strengthen into a named tropical storm within the next 24 hours before hitting the oil and gas-producing south Texas coast today, the US National Hurricane Centre said. Reuters