Oil Nears $75 Today

Oil prices closed higher Wednesday, near $75 a barrel, after teetering for much of the session following a government report that said supplies of crude oil were far below estimates.

Oil prices are now flirting with the all-time record trading high of $75.78 hit July 7.

Crude supplies fell by 6 million barrels. Analysts were looking for a 1.2 million barrel decline.

Gasoline supplies fell by 400,000 barrels, while distillates, used to make heating and diesel fuel, rose by 2.6 million barrels. Analysts were looking for a 100,000 barrel drop in gasoline stocks and a 1.6 million barrel build in distillates.

On the international front, Iran said it wouldn't respond immediately to international offers to end its nuclear program, calling the details too ambiguous.

Oil traders had hoped the country, the world fifth-largest oil producer, would agree to the terms this week and ease some of the geopolitical pressure that has helped drive oil prices up nearly 20 % since the start of the year.

Oil has soared in excess of 300 % since 2002, mainly on tight supply and robust demand but exacerbated by rising production costs, speculative trading and international tensions.