Oil Prices Fall On Surprise Rise In Weekly Supply

Prices for U.S. crude-oil futures declined Wednesday, as an unexpected weekly rise in oil supply underscored worries about already-high inventory levels.

Crude oil for July delivery  fell 61 cents, or 0.6%, to $94.77 a barrel, weighed by a report from the American Petroleum Institute that U.S. crude-oil stocks rose by nearly 9 million barrels for the week ending June 7. Analysts polled by Platts had expected no change.

The more closely watched supply data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration were due out later Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time.

Investors this year have grappled with the issue of lofty oil supplies. Last week’s EIA report showed total U.S. crude supplies at 397.6 million barrels, the highest level since at least 1978, when the agency began collecting the data.

London-traded Brent July crude  also fell following the API’s report, trading lower by 44 cents, or 0.4%, at $102.52 a barrel.

U.S. crude-oil futures and Brent crude prices fell on Tuesday fell as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries trimmed its oil-demand growth guidance for the year by 10,000 barrels per day from the prior month’s report. But OPEC said demand should increase by about 780,000 bpd in 2013.

Meanwhile, July gasoline   fell 2 cents, or 0.7%, to $2.80 a gallon, while July heating oil   was unchanged at $2.85 a gallon.

Natural gas for July delivery   also held steady, at $3.72 per million British thermal units.

Source : Marketwatch