Crude oil prices fell for the third straight day on Wednesday, briefly dipping below $72 a barrel after a surprising increase in U.S. gasoline supplies, the Associated Press reports.
Analysts said selling also was spurred by the rising belief in the market that the conflict in Israel and Lebanon would not spread and thus threaten Middle East oil supplies.
Light sweet crude for August delivery tumbled as low as $71.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, before settling at $72.66, a decline of 88 cents. Gasoline futures declined by 3.72 cents to settle at $2.2298 a gallon, while heating oil futures finished 1.83 cent lower at $1.9651 a gallon.
