Crude Oil Prices Fall For Fourth Day

NEW YORK (AP) — Benchmark crude fell for the fourth day in a row on Wednesday despite new U.S. data showing a steeper-than-expected decline in inventories.

Benchmark crude for July delivery fell $1 to $69.47 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent prices fell 98 cents to $69.26 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration report said crude inventories fell 3.9 million barrels last week, or 1.1 percent, to 357.7 million barrels.

The report also said that gasoline reserves grew 3.4 million barrels, or 1.7 percent, to 205 million barrels.

Demand for gasoline was up 1.1 percent from last year, averaging nearly 9.3 million barrels a day over the four weeks ended June 12.

Analysts had expected a 1.7 million-barrel drop in crude oil reserves for the week ended June 12, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

A reading above or below estimates can influence market trading.