Oil prices were back below $79 a barrel Wednesday after a report showed an unexpected rise in weekly U.S. crude inventories and the dollar made gains on other major currencies.
Prices were supported by cold weather in the United States, which increased demand for natural gas and heating oil.
By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for February delivery was down 30 cents to $78.57 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the session, prices peaked at $79.19. On Tuesday, the contract added 10 cents to settle at $78.87.
Oil has gained for six straight days but was lower Wednesday after the American Petroleum Institute reported an increase of 1.725 million barrels in U.S. crude inventories last week.
In other Nymex trading in January contracts, heating oil rose 0.69 cent to $2.1097 gallon while gasoline also added 0.69 cent to $2.0175 a gallon. February natural gas was down 0.04 cent to $5.836 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude for February delivery fell 5 cents to $77.59 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. (AP)
