NEW YORK (AP) — Energy prices are ending the year on an upswing with large storms, falling supplies, a weak dollar and a slightly better employment picture sending futures higher.

Crude futures erased early declines Thursday in shortened holiday trading as the US government reported that unemployment benefit claims from newly laid-off workers fell for the 16th straight week.

At midday, benchmark crude for February delivery rose 44 cents to US$77.11 a barrel on the the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Such claims, reported on a four-week basis, reached their lowest levels since last September when the breadth of the economic crisis became clear.

Yet all of those factors haven’t seriously dented huge stores of crude, natural gas and gasoline. Even with a 5 million barrel draw on crude reported Wednesday by the government, supplies remain ample.

The amount of crude at Cushing, Oklahoma, where crude traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange is stored, is very close record highs.

The US economy remains fragile and save for an occasional jump in demand during holidays, Americans are not buying gasoline and other fuels in large quantities. Even distillates, which include heating oil, remain at historically high levels despite winter storms in the Northeast and Midwest.

Industrial demand for natural gas is extremely weak. The government said Thursday that natural gas in storage fell by a less-than-expected 166 billion cubic feet to 3.4 trillion cubic feet. Gas in storage is 13 percent above than the five-year average.

Refineries that convert oil to fuel are slowing their purchases of crude drastically. Over the past two weeks the amount of crude going into refineries is down 144,000 barrels each day.

Analysts Stephen Schork says Wall Street trading firms may be buying oil contracts in large numbers, but refineries are shutting down because they can’t turn a profit buying crude.

This year, refineries have shut down in California, New Jersey, New Mexico and most recently in Delaware City, Delaware.

“Demand to import and refine crude oil by the guys who import and refine crude oil will remain low into the first quarter,” Schork said. “Bottom line, there are no refineries in lower Manhattan, but there used to be one in Delaware City.”

In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 1.5 cents to US$2.0269 while gasoline rose 1.6 cents to US$1.9827. Natural gas fell 5.5 cents to US$5.766 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude for February delivery rose 40 cents to US$75.85 on the ICE Futures exchange.