LONDON — Kraft announced today holders of 1.5 percent of shares in chocolate and gum maker Cadbury have so far accepted its hostile takeover offer, but the U.S. conglomerate stands to gain support as the offer price moves closer to Cadbury's market value.

The gap narrowed Tuesday as Swiss food company Nestle said it would not make an offer for Cadbury, Kraft offered more cash in an alternative — but no higher — offer, and billionaire Warren Buffett, Kraft's biggest shareholder, warned against offering any more stock to sweeten the offer.

Kraft financed its enhanced cash offer by selling its U.S. pizza business to Nestle.

London's Financial Times called Buffett's intervention "a blatant attempt to talk up the food group's share price" — and if so, it worked. Kraft shares closed Tuesday at $28.77, up 4.9 percent, while Cadbury was down 3.2.

Oil prices hovered below $82 a barrel today after a report showed U.S. crude supplies fell more than expected last week.By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for February delivery was down 24 cents to $81.53 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract rose 26 cents to settle at $81.77 a barrel, a 14-month high.Traders closely study U.S. inventory data for signs of consumer demand trends, and crude supplies fell 2.3 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday.Analysts had expected a drop of 1.6 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill.