US inventories data sends WTI below $70 per barrel

Bigger gains in US crude oil and gasoline stockpiles last week sent crude oil prices lower Thursday.

The weekly US inventories report from the US Energy Information Administration, one day later than usual because of the Columbus Day holiday Monday, showed that crude oil stockpiles added 5.6 million barrels to 308.2 million barrels, while gasoline inventories gained 7 million barrels to 193.8 million barrels while distillates in storage dropped by half a million barrels to 122.1 million barrels during the week.

The gains for oil and gasoline stockpiles were greater than had been expected, while distillates inventories fell less than anticipated.

The EIA also reported that demand for gasoline in the United States was down 5.2 percent in the past four weeks over the same time last year.

November contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down $4.69 to $69.85 per barrel at the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, now down more than 50 percent from record highs set in July.

In afternoon trade, Nymex November gasoline futures had dropped 15 cents to $1.63 per gallon while December heating oil was down 11 cents to $2.11 per gallon but January natural gas had added 14 cents to $7.28 per million British thermal units.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said that it had moved a special meeting scheduled for 18 November up to October 24, when its member nations will meet to decide whether and how much to cut production in order to attempt to stop the rapid decline of oil prices.

Meanwhile, at-the-pump prices for regular unleaded gasoline and diesel in the United States continued their decline as well, with gasoline dropping 4.1 cents overnight to $3.084 per gallon on average nationally while diesel fell 3 cents overnight to $3.764 per gallon.