Energy futures rose Thursday after U.S. government reported a surprisingly large drop in oil inventories.

Prices slipped from earlier gains that followed unsettling news from abroad. Syrian armed forces said they opened fire on Israeli fighters that allegedly violated Syrian airspace, and the U.S. embassy in Nigeria warned that American and other Western interests in the country are at risk of a terrorist attack.

The New York benchmark contract, light sweet crude for October delivery, rose 57 cents to close at 76.30 dollars a barrel after trading as high as 77.43 dollars.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for October delivery advanced 43 cents to settle at 74.77 dollars per barrel, after earlier hitting 75.70 dollars.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration revealed Thursday that U.S. crude reserves fell by 3.9 million barrels in the week ending Aug. 31.