Crude oil futures extended gains after a U.S. government report showed a decline in inventories. Supplies fell 1.71 million barrels to 363.8 million in the week ended June 17, the Energy Department said today in a weekly report. Inventories were forecast to decrease by 1.83 million barrels, according to the median of 16 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Crude oil for August delivery rose 98 cents, or 1 percent, to $95.15 a barrel at 10:35 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil traded at $94.78 a barrel before the release of the report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington. Futures also rose after European industrial orders climbed in April as increasing demand in Germany helped counter a slump in France and Italy, suggesting the euro region’s economic expansion maintained some momentum into the second quarter. Orders in the euro area advanced 0.7 percent from March, when they fell 1.5 percent, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. Economists had forecast a gain of 1 percent, the median of 18 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Orders jumped 8.6 percent from a year earlier. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou’s victory in a confidence vote bolsters his new government’s chances of pushing through austerity measures to secure further international financial aid for the country. Budget Cuts Papandreou now turns his attention to clinching parliamentary approval next week of a 78 billion-euro ($112 billion) package of budget cuts to stave off default. European finance ministers and the International Monetary Fund this week said they would hold back a 12 billion euro payment due in July until passage of the plan. The Greek vote “opens the way for the implementation of crucial austerity measures,” David Wech, Vienna-based head of research at JBC Energy GmbH, said. “The worst-case scenario of a near-term default of the Southern European country seems to be off the table, at least for the time being.” To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net.

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