Crude Oil prices rose $4.58 per barrel on Wednesday to settle at $126.77 rebounding from a 12-week intraday low of $120.42 hit Tuesday. The move came as a report by the Energy Information Administration showed an unexpected decline in gasoline and crude oil inventories. Geopolitical tensions between Iran and the West over nuclear proliferation, along with supply disruptions in Nigeria and other major OPEC nations have added to the large moves in crude oil prices.
Concerns over demand for gasoline in the United States have influenced the 16.17% drop in crude oil from a record high of $147.27 reached on July 11. Crude oil prices have increased by about 37% year-to-date. Nine of the ten largest moves in dollar terms have been in 2008, with June 6, 2008, depicting an increase of $10.75, according to Thompson Reuters Data.
In percentage terms, the top-ten largest percentage moves in crude oil were between 1986 and 1998, with March 23, 1998, marking a 15.29% gain.
On the news, the S&P 500 Energy sector was up 5.59% for the day. The top five companies leading the S&P 500 Energy Sector were:
- Sunoco Inc
- Hess Corp
- National Oilwell Varco Inc
- CONSOL Energy Inc
- Apache Corp
