Oil Falls to Near $50 in Third Straight Decline

Oil fell for a third day Tuesday to near $50 a barrel as traders speculated inventories might have risen last week, Bloomberg reported.

Crude futures fell more than $1 to $50.11 in pre-market electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg said.

Oil closed at more than $52 Thursday and Friday before closing at $51.05 on the Nymex Monday, Bloomberg reported.

Gas and diesel each fluctuated by less than a penny in Monday’s weekly Energy Department survey, with diesel gaining 0.7 cent to $2.228 and gas falling 0.9 cent to $2.037.

DOE comes out with its weekly inventory report for oil, gasoline and distillates, which include diesel, on Wednesday morning.