US oil prices were pushed lower today by higher than expected American crude inventories and disappointing industrial production in Europe.
Benchmark oil for April delivery was down 24 cents to $92.28 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The contract fell 2 cents to close $92.52 on the Nymex last night.
Brent crude fell 19 cents to $108.05 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
The US Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report yesterday that crude supplies rose by 2.6 million barrels to 384 million barrels.
Analysts had expected an increase of 2.3 million barrels for the week ended March 8. The increase puts oil in storage 10.5% higher than levels one year earlier.
Weak European economies are also keeping oil prices down. Official statistics released yesterday showed that industrial production across the euro zone fell by a worse-than-expected 0.4% in January.
Both Germany and France, the two industrial powerhouses in the region, registered drops in production.
