Oil Falls Below $105 a Barrel

Oil fell more than $2 to below $105 a barrel Thursday, the lowest level in more than two weeks, Bloomberg reported.

Crude futures fell to as low as $104.77 in early New York Mercantile Exchange trading, after reports that manufacturing in China and Europe contracted.

Oil has closed below $105 a barrel just once in the past month, on March 6, according to Bloomberg Nymex records.

Meanwhile, the Department of Energy reported Wednesday that supplies of crude oil and gasoline fell last week, while distillates, which include diesel, improved.

Oil and gasoline inventories each fell by 1.2 million barrel for the week ended Saturday, while distillates rose by 1.8 million barrels, DOE said in its weekly report.

Crude inventories were forecast to rise by 2.2 million barrels, while gasoline supplies were forecast to fall by 2 million barrels.

Distillates were forecast to decline by 1.5 million barrels, Bloomberg reported.