Oil Holds Near $40 Following DOE Inventory Report
Oil remained near $40 a barrel early Thursday after falling 46 cents Wednesday on data that U.S. inventories rose more than forecast last week, Bloomberg reported.
Crude oil was trading at $40.53 a barrel, up 21 cents from Wednesday’s closing price, in pre-market New York Mercantile Exchange trading, Bloomberg said.
The Energy Department said Wednesday that oil supplies rose 7.2 million barrels last week, more than the 3 million barrel increase forecast, Bloomberg reported.
Oil futures have fallen 9% this year and are more than $100 below last July 3's record Nymex closing price of $145.29, which in turn has brought down retail pump prices of gasoline and diesel from record highs.
