Benchmark Nymex crude futures for October delivery fell 30 cents to $71.13 a barrel in Asian afternoon trade on Globex, after finding support near the $71 level.
The front-month contract dropped 62 cents, or 0.9%, to end at $71.43 a barrel Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The drop followed data released by the Energy Information Administration showing U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly rising 200,000 barrels in the week ended Aug. 21, as imports jumped 14% from the prior week.
September natural-gas futures dropped 3.9 cents to $2.871 per million British thermal units
