Crude oil stockpiles dropped in week

WASHINGTON, July 8 (UPI) -- U.S. crude oil inventories dropped by 2.9 million barrels in the week ending July 3, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell from 350.2 million barrels to 347.3 million barrels, but remain above the upper boundary of the average range for this time of year.

Gasoline inventories rose by 1.9 million barrels to 213.1 million barrels and are in the upper half of the average range. Supplies of distillate fuels, which includes heating oil, increased by 3.7 million barrels to 158.7 million barrels and are above the upper boundary of the average range.

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

Demand for gasoline has increased by 1.3 percent over the past four weeks compared to the same period a year ago. Distillate fuel demand has dropped 12.3 percent, while jet fuel demand has fallen 13.2 percent compared to the same four weeks of 2008.