Oil prices settled more than $2 higher Thursday, after touching $64 a barrel on domestic and Nigerian supply worries.
U.S. light sweet crude for May delivery settled up $2.14 to $63.91 a barrel in afternoon trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price of crude hit $64 a barrel earlier in the session.
Many market observers attributed the price spike to a delayed reaction to Wednesday’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) report, which revealed a larger-than-expected drop in crude stockpiles within the United States.
Crude oil stockpiles in the United States fell 1.3 million barrels last week, according to the EIA report. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a rise of 2.5 million barrels…
Adding to supply fears was a decision by Italian oil firm Eni that it would not honor contracts on its Nigerian Brass River crude exports following a pipeline attack last week, a U.S.-based official aware of the situation told CNNMoney.com.