May 10, 2006 12:00 PM, EDT

Crude Oil Price Dips After Positive Inventory Report

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rude oil prices fell early Wednesday following an Energy Department report that showed oil, gasoline and distillate inventories all rose last week.

Crude oil was trading at $70.40 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in intraday trading, down 29 cents from Tuesday’s close, Bloomberg reported. Crude rose 92 cents Tuesday.

DOE said crude oil inventories rose by 300,000 barrels last week, versus the 1.2 million-barrel drop predicted by analysts, CNBC reported.

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel fuel, rose 200,000 barrels, less than the 700,000-barrel gain forecast by analysts, CNBC said.

Gasoline inventories jumped 2.3 million barrels, above the 1 million barrels forecast by economists, Bloomberg said.