US oil supplies climb in week

U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 2.7 million barrels in the week that ended Friday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The agency said crude oil inventories rose to 380.1 million barrels after falling in five of the previous six weeks. Supplies of crude oil are above the average range for this time of year. Supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, rose by 1.7 million barrels to 125.2 million barrels with inventories remaining in the lower limit of the average range. Stockpiles of gasoline rose by 4.1 million barrels to 210 million barrels in the current week. Inventories of finished gasoline and blending components increased in the week, the agency said. The national average price of gasoline rose by 6.7 cents in the week to $3.494 per gallon, a price 20.5 cents under the same week of 2011, the agency said.