Crude oil prices retreated on Wednesday as a bigger-than-expected increase in U.S. fuel stockpiles added to traders' worries about slowing demand.
Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 2.11 U.S. dollars to settle at 98.53 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday that, in the week ended September 26, crude inventories rose 4.28 million barrels to 294.5 million barrels, and gasoline supplies increased 900,000 barrels to 179.6 million barrels. Both jumped much more than the market had predicted.
Moreover, the EIA report also revealed that the U.S. domestic fuel use in the past four weeks dropped to the lowest level since October 2001, with average daily consumption at 19 million barrels a day.
The EIA report exacerbated the concerns that the economic downturn in the United States and worldwide would curb energy demand from both consumers and businesses. Investors are waiting for the U.S. Senate to vote on a new financial rescue plan later Wednesday, but many analysts believed that the oil prices would just head lower because even the rescue plan can not avert the downward trend of the economy.
In London, Brent crude for November delivery fell 3.07 dollars to 95.10 dollars on the ICE Futures Exchange.
Source: Xinhua
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