Crude prices drop to $122 per barrel range

Crude oil prices were lower Tuesday as the US dollar strengthened and there were more signs of declines in demand.

Miles traveled on US roads fell by 3.7 percent in May from the same month in 2007 while demand for oil and oil products were down by 4.3 percent in the same month.

The declines in demand for gasoline have produced expectations that tomorrow’s US inventories report will show that gasoline stockpiles rose for the fifth consecutive week last week.

At-the-pump regular unleaded gasoline prices dropped 1.7 cents overnight to $3.941 per gallon on average nationally.

September contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude was down $2.57 to $122.16 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after going as low as $120.42 per barrel earlier in the session, while Brent crude dropped $3.18 to $122.66 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Prices for WTI are down more than $25 from their record high, set on 11 July.

Nymex August gasoline dropped 6 cents to $3.00 per gallon.