Wednesday, June 09, 2004

Oil drops in price, US ups inventory

Oil Steady as U.S. Inventories Recover

U.S. light crude futures fell to a new five-week low of $36.45 per barrel, down 14 percent from their last week's peak at $42.45, the highest price since the New York Mercantile Exchange launched its crude contract in 1983.

By 1618 GMT (12:17 p.m. EDT) New York crude was at $37.20 a barrel, down eight cents on the session. London benchmark Brent crude was off seven cents at $34.98 a barrel.

Prices fell after the U.S. federal Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that crude oil stocks rose by 400,000 barrels to 302.1 million barrels last week, their highest in nearly two years.

Gasoline stocks also rose by 2.1 million barrels to 206.4 million, easing concerns that U.S. refineries will struggle to meet summer gasoline demand as Americans take to the roads for vacations.


I have watched the gas prices drop by up to 14 cents a gallon in my local area. Hopefully this will mean less expensive gas for my upcoming trip.