Oil prices fell below $60 a barrel on Friday, reversing course late in the day as traders booked profits following a runup predicated on the fear of hurricane-related supply disruptions.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery dropped by $1.10 to settle at $59.63 per barrel on Nymex. Unleaded gasoline futures declined by 4.22 cents to $1.7634 a gallon, while heating oil futures plunged 5.68 cents to $1.7181 a gallon. In London, Brent crude futures fell by $1.10 to $58.20 per barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange.
Oil inventories fell by 3.6 million barrels last week, leaving supplies at 324.9 million barrels, or 7 percent above year-ago levels. Gasoline inventories shrank by 900,000 barrels to 215.3 million barrels, or 3 percent above year-ago levels. The domestic supply of distillate fuel grew by 4 million barrels to 117.2 million barrels, or 3 percent above last year.
