Oil futures fell Wednesday, with data showing a much bigger-than-expected jump in U.S. gasoline supplies, disappointing data on U.S. jobs growth and a firmer dollar helping to send crude prices below $88 U.S. a barrel.
Oil for January delivery fell 83 cents, or 0.9%, to $87.67 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a bigger-than-expected fall in crude supplies for the week ended Nov. 30, but also reported a hefty climb in gasoline inventories.
Crude supplies fell by 2.4 million barrels. Analysts polled by Platts expected a 1.25-million-barrel decline.
Motor gasoline supplies, however, jumped by 7.9 million barrels, while distillate stocks added three million barrels, the EIA report said.
Analysts polled by Platts forecast a rise of two million barrels in gasoline inventories and a climb of 800,000 barrels in distillate supplies.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute released late Tuesday showed that crude-oil supplies fell 2.2 million barrels last week. That was more than expected, but the report also included revisions to the prior week’s data.
Gasoline futures led the percentage declines Wednesday, with January gasoline down four cents, or 1.5%, at $2.65 U.S. a gallon. Heating oil for January delivery fell nearly two cents, or 0.5%, to $2.99 U.S. a gallon.
Elsewhere in the energy complex, natural gas bucked the overall trend, with the January contract adding seven cents, or 1.9%, to 3.61 per million British thermal units.
