Oil Drops Below $90 a Barrel
Oil fell to an eight-week low Wednesday, closing below $90 a barrel for the first time since early August on signs of lower demand, Bloomberg reported.
Crude futures fell $1.39 to finish at $89.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest closing price since Aug. 2, Bloomberg said.
Oil has declined more than $9 on the Nymex since finishing at $99 a barrel on Sept. 14, a four-month high.
The Department of Energy, meanwhile, reported Wednesday that crude inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels last week, in contrast to economists’ forecasts of a 1.9 million-barrel increase, Bloomberg said.
DOE said total U.S. fuel use fell 1.1% in the four weeks ended Sept. 21 and despite the inventory increase, stockpiles were at the highest level for this time of the year since 1990, Bloomberg reported.
Gasoline supplies fell by 500,000 barrels and distillates, which include diesel, also fell by 500,000 barrels, DOE said in its weekly report.
Energy analysts had forecast a 500,000-barrel increase for both gasoline and distillate supplies, Bloomberg said.
