Crude oil prices down on inventories, new China bank rules

Crude oil prices fell in New York after the US Energy Information Administration said that stockpiles of both crude oil and gasoline jumped more than expected last week, and on another increase in how much cash the Chinese government will require banks to keep in reserve as a way to curb lending there.

In a report that was delayed two days by bad weather, the EIA said that crude oil inventories added 2.4 million barrels last week against an expected gain of 2 million barrels, while gasoline stockpiles grew by 2.3 million barrels.

Distillates in storage dropped by 300,000 barrels during the week, but the decline was much smaller than the 1.75 million barrel reduction that had been expected.

At midday, March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down by $2.05 to $73.23 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Nymex March gasoline futures were 3 cents lower to $1.91 per gallon while March heating oil dropped 5 cents, also to $1.91 per gallon, but March natural gas added 11 cents to $5.51 per million British thermal units.

The price motorists paid at the pump for gasoline in the United States was down 0.8 cent overnight to $2.628 per gallon on average nationally.