Oil futures tumbled after the U.S. Energy Department said stockpiles rose the most since 2008, Bloomberg reported.
It said crude inventories climbed 9.01 million barrels to 362.4 million in the seven days ended March 30, to the highest level since June 17. Supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for New York-traded futures, increased 729,000 barrels to 40.3 million.
Oil for May delivery fell $1.78 U.S., or 1.7%, to $102.23 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil traded at $102.78 U.S. a barrel before release of the inventory report at 10.30 a.m. ET.
Gasoline inventories dropped 1.46 million barrels to 221.9 million last week, the Energy Department said today. Stockpiles were forecast to slip 1.4 million barrels, according to the median of 11 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.
Distillate supplies, which include heating oil and diesel, edged 19,000 barrels to 135.9 million. Stockpiles were estimated to fall 500,000 barrels.
Oil also fell after the Federal Reserve signaled it may refrain from further monetary accommodation unless the economy falters or prices rise at a rate slower than its 2% target, according to the minutes of its March 13 policy meeting released yesterday.
