Oil tops $90 as US crude stocks shrink

Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 43 cents to $90.25 in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In its weekly petroleum report, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said crude supplies dropped by 5.3 million barrels last week from the week before. That's more than twice the decline expected by analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. EIA said gasoline supplies grew by more than 2 million barrels.

In other trading on the Nymex, heating oil added 0.63 cent to $2.5227 a gallon, gasoline gained 1.11 cents at $2.4096 a gallon and natural gas lost 3.9 cents at $4.020 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude rose 39 cents to $93.59 on the ICE Futures exchange.

Meanwhile, world stocks advanced on Wednesday to two-year highs on growing optimism about global economic growth while the euro slumped to near-lifetime lows against the Swiss franc on Portugal and Greece debt warnings.

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