Oil Prices Briefly Back Above $90

New York, NY, Dec. 22, 2010 -- Oil prices rose back above $90 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showed U.S. supplies dropped more than expected for a second week.

Benchmark oil for February delivery was up 19 cents to $90.01 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract settled at $89.82 on Tuesday.

The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that crude inventories fell 5.8 million barrels last week, more than the forecast for a drop of 2.4 million barrels.