Crude oil supplies rose slightly in week

WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. crude oil supplies rose by 100,000 barrels in the week ending Feb. 14, far less than expected, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

The consensus forecast called for a gain of about 1.1 million barrels.

Inventories rose to 362.4 million barrels and remain in the upper half of the average range for this time of year, the agency said.

The EIA said supplies of motor-grade gasoline supplies declined by 2.8 million barrels to 230.6 million barrels and are in the upper half of the average range for this time of year.

Supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, rose by 300,000 barrels to 113.1 million and are well below the lower limit of the average range for this time of year.

The national average retail price of regular unleaded gasoline rose by 6.4 cents to $3.444 per gallon, which is 34 cents under the retail price in the same week of 2013.