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Oil prices drop after distillate inventories rise

31 August 2009 08:28 (UTC +04:00)

Bakuâ€“ APA-Economics. Crude oil fell for the first day in three in New York as concern over above-average distillate fuel stockpiles capped a rally built on speculation that demand will increase as the global economy recovers, Bloomberg reports.

U.S. distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, rose to a four-week high of 162.4 million barrels last week, the Energy Department said Aug. 26. Thatâ€™s near the highest level since 1983. Separately, the United Arab Emiratesâ€™ state-owned company eased cuts on crude oil supply for the first time in seven months, a sign OPEC members may be overshooting their output targets.

Crude oil for October delivery fell as much as 52 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $72.22 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was at $72.37 at 12:03 p.m. in Singapore, having earlier gained as much as 62 cents, or 0.9 percent. Oil is up 4 percent in August, poised for the sixth gain in seven months after falling in July.

Commercially held crude oil inventories in the U.S., the worldâ€™s biggest consumer, rose last week to 343.8 million barrels, according to the Energy Department. Thatâ€™s 8.5 percent above the five-year average level.

Brent crude for October dropped as much as 54 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $72.25 a barrel on Londonâ€™s ICE Futures Europe exchange, and was at $72.34 at 12:07 p.m. Singapore time.