NEW YORK — Oil plunged below $70 a barrel Thursday, bringing its price to less than half its July record high after the government reported massive increases in U.S. crude and gasoline supplies. Investors took the news as more evidence that a global credit crisis and a shaky economy are curbing demand for oil, which hasn't been this cheap in nearly 14 months. The selloff came despite an announcement by OPEC on Thursday that it was moving up by almost a month an emergency meeting to discuss oil's rapid drop in value. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will now meet Oct. 24 in Vienna, Austria, instead of Nov. 18, the cartel said in a statement. Light, sweet crude for November delivery dropped as low as $69.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before gaining slightly to trade down $3.81 to $70.73. It was crude's lowest trading level since Aug. 22, 2007. Crude has now fallen 53 percent since surging to a record $147.27 on July 11. Thursday's declines accelerated after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that crude stocks rose by 5.6 million barrels last week, well above the 3.1 million barrel increase expected by analysts surveyed by energy research firm Platts. The EIA also says gasoline stock rose by 7 million barrels last week, more than double the build analysts had expected. The increase in supply comes as U.S. Gulf Coast energy installations continue to increase production after shutdowns caused by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav.

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