Oil Prices Fall As U.S. Supplies Grow

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil is down Wednesday after the government said U.S. supplies unexpectedly grew last week.

Benchmark U.S. crude fell by $1.61 to $82.74 per barrel in New York while Brent crude lost $1.31 to $94.45 per barrel in London.

The Energy Information Administration reported that oil supplies grew by 2.9 million barrels last week. Analysts were predicting that supplies would fall by 600,000 barrels. Oil supplies have risen this year to the highest levels since 1990, thanks to a boom in North American production.

Analysts say oil prices could fluctuate greatly in the afternoon when the Federal Reserve announces whether it will take action to stimulate the economy.

At the pump, U.S. gasoline prices fell by a penny to a national average of $3.487 per gallon.