Oil rises slightly on unrest in the Middle East

[October 13, 2012]  (AP) -- The price of oil fell Friday on concerns that growth in global crude demand will slow even as more petroleum becomes available.

Benchmark oil fell 21 cents Friday to $91.86 per barrel in New York.

On Friday, the International Energy Agency issued a new report predicting slower growth in demand for oil over the next five years. It cited the sluggish global economy and growing energy efficiency. The agency also forecast that supplies will increase, in part because U.S. production from shale formations is exceeding expectations.

The IEA is an organization of 28 oil-importing countries that collects and analyzes data about global petroleum supply and demand.

Friday's decline in the price of oil eroded some of the gains from earlier this week, when tensions between Syria and Turkey raised worries about supplies. Still, the price of U.S. benchmark crude climbed 2.2 percent over the past week.

AAA said gasoline prices at the pump fell less than a penny from Thursday to $3.81 for a gallon of regular. That's about 41 cents higher than a year ago but down 5 cents from a month ago.

Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, dropped $1.07 to $113.61 per barrel in London.

In other energy trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange:

• Heating oil fell 3.32 cents to end at $3.2239 per gallon.

• Wholesale gasoline dropped 6.28 cents to end at $2.8928 per gallon.

• Natural gas rose less than a penny to end at $3.611 per 1,000 cubic feet.

[Associated Press; By SANDY SHORE]

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