Oil retreats from 2-year high, falls below $109

The price of oil fell below $109 a barrel Thursday, easing off a two-year high, after a report showed a rise in U.S. crude inventories, AP reported. Benchmark oil for October delivery was down $1.15 to $108.95 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.09, or 1 percent, to $110.10 a barrel on Wednesday, driven higher by the prospect of Western military intervention in Syria's civil war. That was its highest closing price since May 3, 2011. Earlier in the day, oil charged as high as $112.24. The American Petroleum Institute said crude stocks for the week ended Aug. 23 rose by 2.47 million barrels to about 366.6 million barrels. Rising supplies tend to hold oil prices down.