Crude oil drops below $75 a barrel

NEW YORK, July 12 (UPI) -- U.S. crude oil dropped more than $1 to settle below $75 a barrel Monday after oil's largest one-week gain since May.

Crude for August delivery lost $1.27, or 1.67 percent, to settle at $74.82 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange settled down $1.16, or 1.55 percent, at $73.40 a barrel.

Prices settled at $76.09 a barrel Friday, the highest level since June 28.

Last week's 5.5 percent gain in crude oil prices, the biggest rally in six weeks, came after the U.S. government reported a drop in weekly U.S. stockpiles.

Gasoline led energy losses, with August reformulated gasoline blendstock down 4.2 cents, or 2.03 percent, to settle at $2.028 a gallon.

Natural gas for August delivery settled down a penny, or 0.16 percent, at $4.40 per 1,000 cubic feet.

August heating oil settled down 3.47 cents, or 1.71 percent, at $1.991 a gallon.

AAA said Monday the average U.S. retail price for regular unleaded gasoline was $2.715 a gallon, up 0.002 cents from Friday's $2.713 a gallon.