US crude oil supplies down slightly

U.S. crude oil inventories remain historically high, despite a slight draw down in the week ending last Friday, the Energy Information Administration said. Crude oil stockpiles dropped 600,000 barrels to 394.9 million barrels. Supplies, however, are near levels unseen for 82 years and remain above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. The agency, in a report released Wednesday, said supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, rose 2.3 million barrels to 119.9 million barrels. Inventories of distillate fuels are in the lower half of the average range for this time of year, the agency said. Stockpiles of gasoline rose 2.6 million barrels to 217.7 million barrels this week but are in the upper half of the average range for this time of year. The national average price of unleaded gasoline rose for the second consecutive week, gaining 6.5 cents to reach $3.603 per gallon, putting the price of gasoline 15.1 cents lower than in the same week of 2012.