Oil prices rose Wednesday even though the government reported that the United States is consuming less than it has in years and inventories are bloated with the most surplus crude in nearly 19 years.
Benchmark crude for June delivery rose up 83 cents to $50.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent prices rose 96 cents to $50.95 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
The Energy Information Administration said that crude inventories rose by 4.1 million barrels for the week ended April 24, or 1.1 percent, to 374.7 million barrels. Analysts had expected a boost of 1.8 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
U.S. inventories are now holding the most oil since Aug. 31, 1990, according to EIA data. Government data also show that U.S. consumption of petroleum is down to 18.4 million barrels a day, the lowest since May 28, 1999.
The growing stocks have helped keep pump prices relatively flat, a welcome sign a month before Memorial Day, the traditional start of America's summer driving season. Last year, gas prices were surging each week by about 7 cents a gallon, said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.
Gas prices have flattened since rising above $2 a gallon March 26.
Retail gas prices rose less than a penny overnight to a new national average of $2.05 a gallon according to auto club AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. Pump prices are flat compared to a month ago, but they're $1.557 a gallon cheaper than the same time last year.
"This has been the quietest April since 2002" in terms of gas price fluctuations, Kloza said.
The relative stability at the pump comes as crude prices hover around $50 a barrel. Oil has held its value despite a plunge in global consumption because traders still see it as a safe haven from inflation that will only go up in price as the economy recovers.
Experts said worries about the economy and the swine flu virus recently have depressed crude prices somewhat, though oil seems to continue to ride the coattails of equities markets, which were also up Wednesday morning.
The swine flu virus is suspected in 159 deaths and 2,498 illnesses across Mexico, the epicenter of the outbreak. The disease spread to more countries Tuesday, with confirmed cases in New Zealand and Israel, joining the United States, Canada, Britain and Spain.
"People aren't calling this a pandemic yet, but it will still have a huge effect if people react as if it were," said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research. "If it scares people away from going on vacations, it could have at least a mild depressing effect" on the economy.
On Wednesday, the government reported that the economy shrank at a worse-than-expected 6.1 percent pace at the start of this year. The Commerce Department report said a rebound in consumer spending was overwhelmed by cutbacks in business spending and the biggest drop in U.S. exports in 40 years.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for May delivery increased 4.56 cents to $1.4433 a gallon. Heating oil for May delivery rose 2.06 cents to $1.3373 a gallon.
Natural gas for June delivery was up 4.1 cents to $3.481 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Associated Press writers George Jahn in Vienna, Austria and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.
