oil inventory

Lower U.S. petroleum inventory and higher demand pushed oil prices past the $90-a-barrel mark Wednesday. Gasoline prices remain near $3 per gallon as a result.

In its interim earnings update yesterday, Chevron (CVX) said that its second-quarter earnings from pumping oil will be better than the first quarter, when low crude and natural-gas prices contributed to the company's poor quarterly results. That said, CVX stated that second-quarter earnings from...