Oil nears $72 with supplies falling

Oil prices climbed nearer to $72 a barrel on Wednesday with early indications that the government could report crude supplies have dropped for the seven out of the past eight weeks.

Oil prices climbed nearer to $72 a barrel on Wednesday with early indications that the government could report crude supplies have dropped for the seven out of the past eight weeks.

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Benchmark crude for August delivery added $1.81 to $71.70 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent prices rose $1.80 to $71.10 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Prices jumped on Wednesday morning trading after the American Petroleum Institute reported that US supplies fell last week by 6.8 million barrels.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration survey, which is considered the definitive count on the country's oil supplies, is expected later in the day.

A gallon (3.8 liters) of regular gas is 11.8 cents more expensive than last month, but it's $1.457 cheaper than a year ago.

"The fundamentals in crude oil market look fragile," Bank of America Merrill Lynch said. "Anyway you cut it, demand is
extremely weak."