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Oil hovers under $71 as US crude supplies climb

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[September 16, 2009]  LONDON (AP) -- Oil traded just below $71 a barrel Wednesday as an unexpected rise in U.S. crude supplies heightened investor concerns about weak consumer demand.

Benchmark crude for October delivery was down 18 cents to $70.75 a barrel by late morning in Europe in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Tuesday, the contract rose $2.07 to settle at $70.93.

Crude prices have hugged the $70 level for months as gasoline demand remains sluggish amid signs the global economy is recovering.

On Tuesday, a SpendingPulse report by MasterCard showed the four-week average for gasoline consumption in the U.S. fell 3.2 percent for the week ended Friday, the ninth straight weekly decline.

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U.S. oil inventories rose last week, more evidence demand remains tepid, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday. Crude stocks increased 631,000 barrels while analysts had expected a drop of 3.0 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Supplies of gasoline grew 1.3 million barrels while distillates jumped 5.2 million barrels, the API said.

A weakening U.S. dollar has also helped support oil prices. The euro rose Wednesday to $1.4688 from $1.4656 the previous day while the dollar fell to 90.29 yen from 91.03 yen.

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In other Nymex trading, gasoline for October delivery fell 1.55 cents to $1.77 a gallon, and heating oil was down 1.8 cents to $1.76 a gallon. Natural gas jumped 12.7 cents to $3.45 per 1,000 cubic feet.

[Associated Press; By CARLO PIOVANO]

Associated Press writer Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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