Oil supplies slip modestly

U.S. crude oil inventories fell modestly in the week ending Friday, Aug. 2, the Energy Information Administration said in release. crude oil stockpiles declined by 1.3 million barrels during the week. At 363.3 million barrels, supplies are near the upper half of the average range on a seasonal basis. The inventory report was released late Wednesday. The agency said supplies of motor grade gasoline rose by 100,000 to 223.6 million barrels and are above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. Supplies of distillate fuels, which include home heating oil, rose by 500,000 barrels to 126.5 million barrels. Inventories of distillate fuels are near the lower limit of the average range for this time of year. The national average price of unleaded gasoline dropped by 1.4 cents in the week, sliding to $3.632 per gallon, putting the price of gasoline 1.3 cents below the same week of 2012.c