by Calculated Risk on 2/23/2006 12:53:00 PM

The AP reports: Oil Prices Slide As U.S. Supplies Rise

Crude futures prices fell below $60 a barrel Thursday after U.S. government data showed an increase in domestic supplies of oil.

The market remained on edge, though, because of supply disruptions in Nigeria and by worries over Iran's nuclear program.

Light sweet crude for April delivery fell $1.16 cents to $59.85 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell more than $1 Wednesday to settle at $61.01 a barrel.

This graph is from the Dept of Energy.

The supply of crude oil is above normal levels (the blue band) and rising.



The graph for gasoline also shows inventories are well above normal for this time of year and have recovered from the hurriance disruptions last year.

The agency's report also showed that gasoline demand over the past four weeks was 2.3 percent higher than during the same period a year ago -- a sign that higher prices were not slowing down motorists.

US gasoline production appears back to normal, but imports are still at an elevated level. Higher gasoline demand is being offset by higher gasoline imports.