US oil supplies near steady in week

U.S. crude oil inventories dropped slightly in the week that ended Friday, the Energy Information Administration said.. Crude oil stockpiles decreased by 200,000 barrels during the week. At 360 million barrels, supplies are near the upper limit of the average range on a seasonal basis, the agency said in a weekly report issued Wednesday afternoon. The agency said supplies of motor grade gasoline rose by 1.7 million barrels to 217.6 million barrels and are in the upper half of the average range for this time of year. Supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, rose by 2.6 million barrels to 132.2 million and are near the lower limit of the average range for this time of year. The national average retail price of regular unleaded gasoline fell in the week, dropping 2.1 cents to $3.587 per gallon. The price is 26 cents per gallon below the price in the same week of 2012, the EIA said.