U.S. crude oil inventories fell modestly in the week ending Friday, the Energy
Information Administration said.
In a report released late Wednesday, the agency said inventories dropped by 1.2
million barrels to 387.6 million barrels.
Inventories of crude remain well above the upper limit of the average range for
this time of year, the report said.
The EIA said supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, rose
by 2.4 million barrels to 115.2 million barrels. Inventories of distillate fuels
are in the lower half of the average range for this time of year, the agency
said.
Stockpiles of gasoline fell by 600,000 barrels to 221.7 million barrels this
week and remain above the upper limit of the average range for this time of
year.
The national average price of unleaded gasoline moved lower for the seventh
consecutive week, dropping 6.6 cents to $3.542 per gallon, putting the price of
gasoline 38 cents lower than the same week of 2012.
