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NEW YORK — U.S. oil supplies rose in the last week of 2011, capping a year of weak demand and sending oil prices lower on Thursday.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said Thursday that U.S. oil supplies swelled by 2.2 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 30. Gasoline supplies increased by 2.5 million barrels in the same period.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell by $1.41 to end the day at $101.81 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price a variety of international oils, fell 96 cents to finish at $112.74 a barrel in London.
Americans are driving more fuel-efficient cars and pumping less gas. The EIA report said gasoline demand over the last four weeks is down about 5 percent from a year earlier. Gasoline pump prices have dropped almost 67 cents per gallon since a high near $4 a gallon in May to a national average of $3.32 per gallon on Thursday.
Refineries have slowed operations compared with a year earlier and are shipping more fuel overseas. Tesoro Corp., which operates refineries in the western U.S., said Thursday that it expects to report a loss in the final three months of 2011 due to deteriorating refining margins. Other refiners are expected to report weak earnings as well.
The nation's natural gas supplies shrank by 76 billion cubic feet last week, but the overall supply remains more than 15 percent above the five-year average for this time of year. Natural gas finished down 12 cents, or 3.8 percent, at $2.98 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In other energy trading, heating oil lost 5 cents to end the day at $3.04 per gallon and gasoline futures fell by 5 cents to finish at $2.74 a gallon.
