UPDATE 10-Oil prices jump 4.5% on U.S. crude stocks draw, Gulf of Mexico storm

* U.S. crude stocks fall more than 9 mln barrels -EIA
* Producers shut offshore output as storm forms in Gulf of
Mexico

(Updates prices and market activity to settlement)
By Laila Kearney
NEW YORK, July 10 (Reuters) - Oil prices rose 4.5% a barrel
on Wednesday to their highest level in more than a month after
U.S. crude inventories shrank and as major producers cut nearly
a third of offshore Gulf of Mexico production ahead of an
expected storm.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled at $67.01 a barrel, up
$2.85, or 4.44 percent. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude
futures CLc1 settled at $60.43 a barrel, climbing $2.60, or
4.50 percent.
Both benchmarks hit their highest prices since late-May.
U.S. crude stocks fell 9.5 million barrels in the week to
July 5, shrinking more than triple the 3.1 million-barrel draw
analysts had expected as refineries ramped up output, the Energy
Information Administration (EIA) said. "The inventory draw was much stronger than expected," which
helped to push oil prices higher, said Carsten Fritsch, oil
analyst at Commerzbank. "Imports dropped and refinery
utilization reached the highest level since the beginning of the
year, contributing to the big draw."
A storm expected to form along the Gulf of Mexico also
helped oil prices.
Major oil firms began evacuating and halting production in
the Gulf of Mexico ahead of the storm, which is forecast to
become a hurricane by the weekend. "With the evacuation of several platforms in the Gulf of
Mexico in advance of a tropical storm, that will curb
production," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil
Associates.
Chevron Corp CVX.N , Royal Dutch Shell RDSa.L , BP BP.L ,
Anadarko Petroleum APC.N and BHP Group BHP.AX were in the
process of removing staff from 15 offshore platforms. Exxon
Mobil XOM.N said it was monitoring the weather to determine if
its facilities might be affected. The Gulf of Mexico is home to 17% of U.S. crude oil output
which stands at around 12 million barrels per day (bpd).
The U.S. and global benchmarks have gained this year as the
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and big
producers such as Russia have curbed output to bolster prices.
The alliance, known as OPEC+, agreed last week to extend
their supply-cutting deal until March 2020.
Tensions around Iran's nuclear program and recent incidents
involving oil tankers in the Gulf have also supported prices.
"The ongoing geopolitical tensions between the United States
and Iran continue to add a still unquantifiable level of
support," said Saxo Bank commodity strategist Ole Hansen.
A top U.S. general said on Tuesday that Washington hopes to
enlist allies over the next two weeks or so in a military
coalition to safeguard strategic waters off Iran and Yemen,
where the United States blames Iran and Iran-aligned fighters
for attacks. <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
TECHNICALS-Brent oil may retest resistance at $65.10
crude inventories, weekly changes since 2017 https://tmsnrt.rs/2XlX17b
TECHNICALS-U.S. oil targets $60.28 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>