Crude oil supplies rose in week

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WASHINGTON, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 5.9 million barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

The agency said inventories climbed to 369.1 million barrels. Supplies of crude oil remain "well above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year," the agency said in a report issued late Wednesday.

The EIA said supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, dropped by 2.3 million barrels to 130.6 million barrels. Inventories of distillate fuels are in the lower half of the average range for this time of year, the agency said.

Stockpiles of gasoline fell by 1 million barrels to 232.2 million barrels this week, but remain in the upper limit of the average range for this time of year.

In the week ending Monday, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline rose for the sixth consecutive week, climbing to $3.357 per gallon, up 4.2 cents from the previous week. The average price is 8.2 cents below the same week a year earlier, the EIA said.