Summary Oil fell slightly after US government reported a smaller than expected decline in oil supplies.
NEW YORK (AP) - The price of oil bounced around Wednesday after the U.S. government reported a smaller than expected decline in oil supplies and a rise in gasoline inventories.
Benchmark crude for September delivery was down 5 cents to $105.25 a barrel in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It fell to $104.67 immediately after the release of the supply data.
The U.S. government s Energy Information Agency said crude oil supplies fell 1.3 million barrels last week. Analysts were expecting a drop of 2 million barrels, according to Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill. In addition, gasoline supplies rose by 100,000 barrels, while analysts had forecast a 1 million barrel decline.
Brent crude, traded on the ICE Futures exchange in London, was down 72 cents at $107.46 a barrel.
