Oil Holds Over $77 Following DOE Report

Oil prices held over $77 a barrel Wednesday following a report that showed inventories rose last week, Bloomberg reported.

Crude prices were trading at $77.10 a barrel mid-day, up almost $3 from Monday’s closing price of $74.43, Bloomberg said. Futures closed Friday at a 2010 low of $72.89.

Oil inventories rose 2.3 million barrels last week refined end-product fuels fell, the Department of Energy said Wednesday.

Distillates, which include diesel, fell by 950,000 barrels, while gasoline stockpiles dropped 1.3 million barrels, DOE said in its weekly report.

Gasoline inventories were forecast to rise, while analysts were split on whether crude stockpiles would rise or fall, Bloomberg reported.