LONDON (AP) - Crude oil prices dropped by more than a dollar a barrel Thursday as traders responded to a report of above-average U.S. oil stockpiles and a lack of bad news to drive prices higher.
At late morning in Europe, light sweet crude for September delivery fell $1.15 to $70.74 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The Brent crude contract for October was down $1.14 at $71.69 a barrel on London's ICE Futures exchange.
Oil prices had dropped more than $1 on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Department reported that commercial crude oil inventories fell 1.6 million barrels in the week ending Aug. 11. However, inventories remain well above the average range for this time of year at 331 million barrels.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures dropped 3.31 cents to $1.9450 a gallon. Heating oil futures fell 2.86 cent to $1.9883 a gallon, while natural gas futures were down 0.6 cent to $6.760 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Oil prices have steadily fallen this week when supply fears abated after a cease-fire held in Lebanon and BP PLC resumed partial production at its Prudhoe Bay oil field in the U.S. state of Alaska.
Concerns about supply disruptions in Nigeria due to civil unrest are lingering in the market, as are worries over the standoff between the United Nations and Iran over its nuclear program. Iran has said it will respond by Aug. 22 to an offer of incentives in exchange for a pledge to suspend uranium enrichment.
Oil traders are also watching weather patterns for potential hurricanes that could strike Gulf of Mexico coast refineries, as well as signals for where fuel demand is headed.