Crude Oil Futures Fall Below $125

Energy futures were weak again Wednesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange after crude oil markets were subjected to another barrage of negative supply and demand news.

The latest petroleum inventory data from the Energy Information Administration showed a jump in gasoline stocks and a spectacular fall in U.S. energy consumption.

West Texas crude for September delivery dropped $3.98 to $124.44 a barrel, and Brent crude lost $4.27 to $125.28 a barrel. Reformulated gasoline shed 11 cents at $3.03 a gallon, and heating oil declined by 13 cents to $3.55 a gallon.

The declines came after data showed that total petroleum product consumption over the past four weeks was 2.1% lower than the same period last year. In particular, motor gasoline demand fell 2.4%, and jet fuel demand dropped 3.6%.

Meanwhile, energy stocks traded lower. ConocoPhillips (COP Quote) lost 2.9% to $81.83, and Chevron (CVX Quote) was down 3.5% at $82.65.

Shares of Exxon Mobil (XOM Quote) gave back 2.3% to $80.99.

The U.S. Oil(USO Quote), an exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of crude oil futures, decreased 3.1% to $100.12.