Crude oil supplies down 6.5M barrels

U.S. crude oil inventories dropped by 6.5 million barrels in the week that ended Friday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The agency said crude oil inventories fell to 373.6 million barrels. Supplies of crude oil, however, remain above the average range for this time of year. Supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, fell by 1 million barrels to 124.3 million barrels with inventories below the lower limit of the average range. Stockpiles of gasoline fell by 2.2 million barrels to 207.9 million barrels in the current week. Inventories of finished gasoline and blending components decreased in the week, the agency said. The national average price of gasoline rose by 1.4 cents in the week to $3.508 per gallon, a price 20.3 cents under the same week of 2011, the agency said. The average price of gasoline has risen four consecutive weeks, the agency said.