Crude oil supplies flat, remaining high, US

U.S. crude oil inventories were unchanged last week, but gasoline stockpiles rose, the Energy Information Administration said. Crude oil stockpiles are above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year, the EIA said. For the week, supplies held steady at 394.1 million barrels. The agency, in a report released Wednesday, said supplies of motor grade gasoline rose by 3.7 million barrels in the week to 225.4 million barrels. Meanwhile, supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, rose by 1.6 million barrels to 123.2 million barrels. Inventories of distillate fuels are in the lower half of the average range for this time of year, the agency said. The national average price of unleaded gasoline fell during the week, dropping 4.9 cents per gallon to reach $3.577 per gallon, putting the price of gasoline 14 cents above the same week of 2012.