国际英语新闻：Oil prices rebound on U.S. inventory drop

NEW YORK, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Crude oil rebound nearly 3 U.S. dollars Wednesday after a report showed a bigger-than-expected decline in the U.S. gasoline and crude supplies.

    Light, sweet crude for September delivery jumped 2.99 dollars to settle at 116.00 dollars a barrel after rising to as high as 117.46 dollars on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

    The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly report that gasoline stockpiles fell by 6.4 million barrels to 202.8 million barrels for the week ended August 8, much more than analysts had expected.

    The crude inventory fell by 400,000 barrels, and the inventories of distillate fuel, which include diesel and heating oil, decreased by 1.7 million barrels, according to the EIA report. Analysts had expected both to increase.

    Despite Wednesday's buying mood, many analysts believed that the big drop in crude and gasoline stocks actually reflected a falling domestic demand as many U.S. refineries shut down units and oil import declined.

    The view was back by EIA's report that U.S. domestic demand for gasoline over the four weeks ended August 8 averaged 9.4 million barrels a day, nearly 2 percent down from one year earlier.

    Meanwhile, a cease-fire in South Ossetia helped to ease concerns about oil shipment in the area.

    In London, Brent crude for September delivery rose 2.32 dollars to settle at 113.47 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.