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Oil prices hover over $68

25 June 2009 07:50 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Vahab Rzayev â€“ APA-Economics. Crude oil was little changed after falling yesterday when a government report showed that U.S. fuel supplies climbed more than forecast amid a decline in demand for petroleum products, Bloomberg reports.

Gasoline inventories rose 3.87 million barrels to 208.9 million last week, the Department of Energy said. Stockpiles were forecast to increase by 1 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Refineries operated at the highest rates this year and fuel demand fell 5.5 percent, the biggest drop since January.

Crude oil for August delivery was at $68.60 a barrel, down 7 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:41 a.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract dropped 57 cents, or 0.8 percent, to settle at $68.67.

Brent crude for August settlement was at $68.25 a barrel, down 8 cents, on Londonâ€™s ICE Futures Europe exchange at 11:35 a.m. Singapore time. Yesterday, the contract dropped 0.7 percent to $68.33 a barrel.