Oil Rises Above $111, Gasoline Climbs To A Record, On U.S. Supply Decline (Mark Shenk)

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April 9 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil rose above $111 a barrel in New York and gasoline surged to a record after a government report showed that U.S. supplies unexpectedly dropped.

``It looks like this move will accelerate and prices will move toward $115,'' said Tom Bentz, a broker at BNP Paribas in New York. ``This is all part of the big uptrend, and where it stops nobody knows.''

Crude oil for May delivery rose $2.49, or 2.3 percent, to $110.99 a barrel at 11:54 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures reached $111.43, the highest since March 17, when prices touched a record $111.80 a barrel.

Gasoline for May delivery climbed 3.86 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $2.789 a gallon. Futures reached $2.8228, an intraday record for gasoline to be blended with ethanol, known as RBOB, which began trading in October 2005.