Oil remains lower after report

[notiCIas]

Oil remains lower after report

Prices slip further below $75 a barrel on surprise rise in gasoline inventories.

July 6 2006: 10:40 AM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices declined further Thursday after a government report showed an unexpected buildup in weekly gasoline supplies.

U.S. light crude for August delivery fell 44 cents to $74.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil was down 34 cents at $74.85 a barrel just before the report.


The Energy Information Administration's weekly stockpile report showed crude supplies fell by 2.4 million barrels. Analysts were looking for a drop of 1.9 million barrels, according to Reuters.

Distillates, used to make heating oil and diesel fuel, rose by 1 million barrels while gasoline supplies increased by 700,000 barrels. Analysts were looking for a 1.1 million gain in distillate stocks and a 1.9 million barrel decline in gasoline supplies.

On Wednesday, the front-month crude contract settled at a fresh all-time high of $75.19 a barrel as tensions over Iran and worries about North Korea sent prices soaring.