LONDON — Oil traded just above $71 a barrel Wednesday as investors weighed a weakening dollar — which supports commodity prices — against a rise in crude supplies, which suggests demand remains weak.
Benchmark crude for October delivery was up 13 cents to $71.06 a barrel by mid-afternoon in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract rose $2.07 to settle at $70.93.
Crude prices have hugged the $70 level for months as gasoline demand remains sluggish despite signs the global economy is recovering.
On Tuesday, a SpendingPulse report by MasterCard showed the four-week average for gasoline consumption in the U.S. fell 3.2 percent for the week ended Friday, the ninth straight weekly decline.
U.S. oil inventories rose last week, more evidence demand remains tepid, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday. Crude stocks increased 631,000 barrels while analysts had expected a drop of 3.0 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
Supplies of gasoline grew 1.3 million barrels while distillates jumped 5.2 million barrels, the API said.
However, oil prices were supported by a continued weakening of the U.S. dollar. The euro rose Wednesday to $1.4682 from $1.4656 the previous day while the dollar fell to 90.43 yen from 91.03 yen.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for October delivery fell 0.49 cents to $1.78 a gallon, and heating oil was down .10 cents to $1.77 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 23 cents to $3.55 per 1,000 cubic feet.
