Oil Falls on Expected Rise in U.S. Crude Supplies

The price of oil fell Tuesday as analysts forecast another rise in U.S. crude oil supplies.

Benchmark U.S. crude for December delivery dropped 48 cents to $98.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It has fallen 4 percent so far in October.

U.S. crude supplies rose 21.5 million barrels in the four weeks ending Oct. 18, to levels nearly 10 percent above the five-year average.

Data for the week ending Oct. 25 is expected to show increases of 3.5 million barrels in crude oil stocks and of 1.5 million barrels in gasoline stocks, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

The American Petroleum Institute will release its report on oil stocks later Tuesday, while the report from the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration — the market benchmark — will be out on Wednesday.

The market was also waiting for Wednesday’s outcome of a two-day Federal Reserve policy meeting. The Fed is expected to reinforce expectations that it won’t begin reducing its mammoth monetary stimulus until next year.

At the gas pump, the average price for a gallon of gasoline nationwide was $3.28. That’s down 13 cents from a month ago and 26 cents cheaper than at this time a year ago.

Brent crude, a benchmark for international crude also used by U.S. refineries, was down 75 cents to $108.86 on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

• Wholesale gasoline lost 2 cents to $2.61 a gallon.
• Heating oil was flat at $2.96 a gallon.
• Natural gas fell 7 cents to $3.50 per 1,000 cubic feet.