Oil supplies rise slightly

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 800,000 barrels last week, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said.

The agency said inventories rose to 372.6 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.

Supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, rose by 3 million barrels to 118.1 million barrels. Inventories of distillate fuels, however, "remain well below" the lower limit of the average range, the agency said.

Stockpiles of gasoline rose by 5 million barrels to 217.1 million barrels this week, and rose to the upper half of the average range.

The national average price of gasoline at the pump fell by 4.5 cents in the week to $3.349 per gallon.

The current average price is 6.3 cents more than the price in the same week of 2011, the agency said.