Normally, this would cause oil prices to go up. - Dan
NEW YORK (AP) -- The nation's inventories of oil and gasoline fell last week, the government reported Wednesday.
Commercial crude supplies declined 2.4 million barrels, or 0.7 percentage point, to 365.2 million barrels for the week that ended Sept. 21, the Energy Department reported. The total was still 7.1 percent above the comparable week in 2011.
Analysts expected oil inventories to increase 1.5 million barrels, according to Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Oil imports averaged 7.6 million barrels per day last week, which was down 2.3 million barrels from the previous week, the agency stated.
Gasoline stockpiles dropped 500,000 barrels to 195.8 million barrels. That's 8.9 percent less than year-ago levels. Analysts had expected the supplies to remain unchanged.
Demand for gasoline over the four weeks ended Sept. 21 was 1 percent less than the same period of 2011, averaging 8.8 million barrels a day.
U.S. refineries ran at 87.4 percent of total capacity on average, down 1.5 percentage points from the prior week. Analysts expected capacity to remain unchanged.
Supplies of distillate fuel, which include diesel and heating oil, fell 500,000 barrels to 127.7 million barrels. The total was 19 percent less than year-ago levels. Analysts expected inventories to increase by 1 million barrels.
Benchmark crude futures fell $2.04, or 2.2 percent, to $89.35 a barrel in New York.
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Oil Prices
Oil Prices
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group
Re: Oil Prices
..Oil drops on questions about Europe's crisis
Price of oil falls as protests in Greece, Spain raise more worries about Europe's debt crisis
By The Associated Press | Associated Press – 55 minutes ago........
The price of oil is dropping as protests in Greece and Spain offer visible reminders that Europe is still struggling to resolve its debt crisis.
Benchmark oil fell $1.54 to $89.83 per barrel Wednesday in New York.
The protests are occurring ahead of spending cuts and tax hikes designed to help those countries control debt.
Europe's slower growth also is hurting economies in China and the U.S. Slower economic growth means less demand for energy products like oil, gasoline and natural gas.
In the U.S., traders are awaiting a government report that will update oil inventories.
Meanwhile, AAA says the national average price for gasoline fell about half a cent overnight to $3.805 per gallon. That's up about 30 cents from a year ago.
Price of oil falls as protests in Greece, Spain raise more worries about Europe's debt crisis
By The Associated Press | Associated Press – 55 minutes ago........
The price of oil is dropping as protests in Greece and Spain offer visible reminders that Europe is still struggling to resolve its debt crisis.
Benchmark oil fell $1.54 to $89.83 per barrel Wednesday in New York.
The protests are occurring ahead of spending cuts and tax hikes designed to help those countries control debt.
Europe's slower growth also is hurting economies in China and the U.S. Slower economic growth means less demand for energy products like oil, gasoline and natural gas.
In the U.S., traders are awaiting a government report that will update oil inventories.
Meanwhile, AAA says the national average price for gasoline fell about half a cent overnight to $3.805 per gallon. That's up about 30 cents from a year ago.
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group