Sept. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil traded near a record $80 a barrel in New York after U.S. stockpiles dropped more than forecast and on concern that a storm in the Gulf of Mexico may disrupt output and refining.

U.S. oil inventories fell 7.01 million barrels last week, the Energy Department said yesterday, the biggest decline this year and more than twice the drop forecast in an analyst survey. Tropical Storm Humberto will strike the Texas-Louisiana coast later today, the National Hurricane Center said.

``People were thinking that the inventories were comfortable, but now maybe they're not,'' said Tobin Gorey, commodities strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd. in Sydney. ``And they're looking toward the fourth quarter when demand peaks globally over the winter.''

Crude oil for October delivery was at $79.62 a barrel, down 29 cents, in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 12:58 p.m. in Singapore.

The contract rose $1.68, or 2.2 percent, to $79.91 yesterday, after earlier trading at $80.18, the highest intraday price since trading began in 1983. The previous record of $78.77 was reached on Aug. 1.

The drop in oil inventories left the U.S. supplies at 322.6 million barrels, 8.3 percent more than the five-year average for the period, the department said. A 2.7 million-barrel drop was expected, based on the median estimate from a Bloomberg News survey of 17 analysts.

``You've got your storms and you've got this big drop in the inventories,'' said Bob Frye, commodity broker at Access Futures Options & Trading Co. in Woodlake, California. ``$81 is just a chip-shot from here.''

Imports, Fuel

Brent crude oil for October settlement was at $77.53 a barrel, down 15 cents, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange at 12:49 p.m. in Singapore. It rose $1.30, or 1.7 percent, to $77.68 yesterday, the highest since Aug. 7, 2006.

Tropical Storm Humberto, with 50 mile (80 kilometer) an- hours winds, was about 35 miles south of Galveston at 7 p.m. local time, the hurricane center said in its latest forecast. It will make land between Galveston and Port Arthur later today.

A tropical depression 1,065 miles east of the Lesser Antilles is heading northwest and will probably reach storm strength later today, the center said.

September is traditionally the busiest month for storms during the North Atlantic Hurricane season.

U.S. Stockpiles fell after oil imports plunged 6.6 percent to 9.56 million barrels a day, a six-month low. Gasoline inventories eased and distillate supplies rose, both close to forecast, as refiners reduced motor fuel output with the passing of peak summer holiday driving.

Reason to Buy

Oil's gain this week, after a production increase by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, shows bullish sentiment is driving prices, rather than the usual seasonal decline in U.S. fuel demand, Access Trading's Frye said. November oil may reach $86, he said.

``You've got a bunch of people basically panting looking for any reason to buy,'' he said. ``The OPEC thing was not bullish.''

OPEC pumps about 40 percent of the world's oil and had been expected to leave output unchanged when the group met in Vienna this week. Members will increase production by 500,000 barrels a day from November to help ensure adequate fourth-quarter supplies, the group said Sept. 11.

Energy Agency

Oil prices have risen 31 percent this year as hedge funds and other speculators bet on surging energy demand.

``A lot of this increase in the oil price has been due to fund investment,'' said Gavin Wendt, senior resources analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney. ``If they are pumping a lot of money into the market that has to be a positive sign for the price because they've looked at the tea leaves and deduced that oil is a good investment even at $80 a barrel.''

The International Energy Agency, an adviser to 26 industrialized nations, yesterday said global oil demand will rise 1.4 percent to 85.9 million barrels a day this year. The forecast is 90,000 barrels a day less than the agency projected in its previous monthly forecast.

Further downward revisions may depend on whether the collapse in the U.S. home-loan market weighs on other economies, report author Lawrence Eagles said yesterday.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Schmollinger in Singapore at christian.s@bloomberg.netGavin Evans in Wellington at gavinevans@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 13, 2007 01:02 EDT