Oil prices fell below $66 a barrel Wednesday after inventories skyrocketed and consumer confidence fell due to unfavorable economic data.
Crude-oil dropped $1.59 or 2.4% to $65.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after sliding more than a dollar Tuesday.
U.S. oil stockpiles jumped to 5.1 million barrels last week due to an increase in imports, after forecasters predicted a decline in inventories as well as lower import activity.
Motor gasoline supplies fell 2.3 million barrels while distillate inventories grew by 2.1 million barrels.
Meanwhile, September’s oil delivery fell $3.23 to $64, while futures remain up 43% this year.
Refinery operating at 84.6% capacity, the lowest since May and down 1.5% from the prior week.
Gas prices increased this week at the pump to a new national average of $2.511 a gallon according to the AAA, Wright and Oil Price Information Service.
In Nymex trading, gasoline for August delivery dropped 3.26 cents to $1.878 a gallon, while natural gas for August deliver fell 6 cents to $3.475 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gold futures fell Wednesday as well as a result of lower oil prices. August delivery ticked down $8.30, or 0.9% to $930.80 an ounce in Nymex trading’s Comex division. Gold prices fell to $925.20, slipping from July 15 price of $940.90 per troy ounce.
