May 24, 2006 10:30 AM, EDT

Crude Price Dips on Gasoline Inventory Gain

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rude oil fell Wednesday following a Department of Energy report that showed gasoline inventories rose last week, Bloomberg reported.

Benchmark light sweet crude oil futures fell 61 cents to $71.15 a barrel in early trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg reported.

Tuesday had been the first day in more than week that oil closed above $70 a barrel.

Gasoline inventories rose 2.1 million barrels last week, more than the 1.3 million forecast by economists, Bloomberg said.

Distillates, which include diesel, also gained, rising 2.5 million barrels last week. Crude oil supplies fell 3 million barrels, DOE said in its weekly inventory report.