Reply #3: Oil hovers near $71 as US crude supplies climb

[ozymandius]

SINGAPORE – Oil prices hung near $71 a barrel Wednesday in Asia as an unexpected rise in U.S. crude supplies heightened investor concerns about weak consumer demand.

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On Tuesday, a SpendingPulse report by MasterCard showed the four-week average for gasoline consumption in the U.S. fell 3.2 percent for the week ended Friday, the ninth straight weekly decline.

U.S. oil inventories rose last week, more evidence demand remains tepid, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday. Crude stocks increased 631,000 barrels while analysts had expected a drop of 3.0 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

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In other Nymex trading, gasoline for October delivery fell 0.57 cent to $1.78 a gallon, and heating oil was steady at $1.78 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 12.2 cents to $3.44 per 1,000 cubic feet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices