Oil prices up on hints of US crude exports

The price of US oil rose on Wednesday following reports that Washington is studying whether to lift a longstanding ban on crude oil exports.

Benchmark US crude for June delivery was up 33 cents to $102.03 a barrel at 0550 GMT on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, it jumped $1.11 to $101.70 a barrel, its highest close since April 24.

Department of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz told reporters in Seoul, South Korea that the government was reviewing the issue of crude oil exports, given the mismatch between rising supplies of crude and the US refining capacity, according to a report.

On Wednesday, the Energy Department is expected to report that US crude oil supplies fell last week by 1.5 million barrels, according to a survey of analysts by Platts. It would be the second weekly decline since the nation's supply of oil reached a record 399.4 million barrels as of April 25.

Brent crude was up 12 cents to $108.75 a barrel on the ICE exchange in London.