Crude oil supplies rose in week

U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 8.5 million barrels in the week that ended Friday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said. The agency said crude oil inventories rose to 367.6 million barrels. Supplies of crude oil remain above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. Supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, fell by 300,000 million barrels to 128.2 million barrels with inventories under the lower limit of the average range. Stockpiles of gasoline fell by 1.4 million barrels to 196.3 million barrels in the current week, leaving supplies near the lower half of the average range. Inventories of finished gasoline rose while blending components decreased in the week, the agency said. The national average price of gasoline rose for the 11th consecutive week, adding 3.1 cents in the week to $3.878 per gallon. The current average price is 27.7 cents more than the same week of 2011, the agency said.