Oil Futures Surpass $20 a Barrel; U.S. Stockpiles Low

Crude oil futures surged above $20 a barrel Wednesday as reports showed U.S. stockpiles have fallen to their lowest levels since 1977, when oil prices were doubling.

The tight stock situation already is being felt at the nation’s gas pumps and is likely to continue, said analyst Tim Evans at Pegasus Econometric Group in New York.

“We’re in a squeaky-tight stock situation,” Evans said, “and consumers are going to feel it.”

Light, sweet crude oil for April delivery rose 65 cents to $20.19, the highest price for the contract closest to delivery since Feb. 20.

The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday that crude stocks fell 2.698 million barrels last week to 297.484 million--the lowest U.S. stockpile since mid-1977, when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries nearly doubled the price of oil.

Most investors had expected stocks to rise 2 million barrels.