Crude oil supplies head back toward upper range in US

U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 2.6 million barrels in the week that ended Friday, the Energy Information Administration said. The surge followed the first week this year that crude oil inventories spent below the upper limits of the average range. The energy monitoring agency said inventories rose to 358.3 million barrels in the week and were headed "toward the upper limit for this time of year." The agency said supplies of motor grade gasoline rose by 200,000 barrels to 216.2 million barrels and are in the upper half of the average range for this time of year. Supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, fell by 200,000 barrels to 130.9 million and remain near the lower limit of the average range for this time of year. The national average retail price of regular unleaded gasoline fell in the week, dropping 5.2 cents to $3.495 per gallon. The price is 33.1 cents per gallon below the price in the same week of 2012, the EIA said.