MW: Crude-oil futures tentatively lower ahead of U.S. supply data
By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Oil prices edged lower Wednesday after data showed U.S. crude supplies climbed last week, with the surprise rise indicating weak demand.
Crude-oil futures for September delivery were off 3 cents at $77.47 a barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The front-month contract on Wednesday ended at $77.50 a barrel, off $1.48.
The American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that inventories of crude last week rose 3.1 million barrels. The increase in supply ran counter to a survey by Platts, the energy information unit of McGraw-Hill Cos., which had projected a decline of 2.3 million barrels.
The Energy Department later Wednesday is scheduled to release its inventory report.
Oil prices have mostly stayed under $80 a barrel this year with worries about the recovery curbing attempts to pull above that level.
Yet the possibility of supply disruptions as the hurricane season gets underway in the Gulf of Mexico is offering some price support for the commodity.
