Crude oil supplies down, gas supplies up

WASHINGTON, July 1 (UPI) -- U.S. crude oil inventories dropped by 3.7 million barrels in the week ending June 26, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell from 353.9 million barrels to 350.2 million barrels but remain above the upper boundary of the average range for this time of year, EIA said.

Gasoline inventories are in the lower half of their average range although inventories increased 2.3 million barrels to 211.2 million barrels.

Supplies of distillate fuels, which include heating oil, rose 2.9 million barrels to 155 million barrels.

Finished gasoline and gasoline blending components inventories rose during the week, EIA reported.

The demand for gasoline has risen 0.9 percent to 9.2 million barrels per day, comparing four-week rolling averages from last year to this. Distillate fuel demand is off 9.4 percent compared to a year ago while jet fuel demand has fallen 13.2 percent in the past four weeks compared to the same weeks in 2008, the report said.