{{The price of oil fell 2% to its lowest level in a month after OPEC stuck to its current production target despite ample supplies of crude.}}<\/p>\n
U.S. crude oil futures fell $1.64 to close at $91.97 Friday in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for pricing oil used by many U.S. refineries to make gasoline, fell $1.80 to close at $100.39 in London.<\/p>\n
The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. slipped less than a penny to $3.61 per gallon. <\/p>\n
Prices rose 10 cents during May, or 3%, mainly due to refinery problems in the Midwest. <\/p>\n
Still, May prices averaged less this year than they did in either of the last two years, according to AAA.<\/p>\n
The automobile association expects the average price of gasoline to continue to slide, and fall below $3.50 a gallon in June.<\/p>\n
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Friday it would keep its official output target of 30 million barrels a day \u2014 one third of the world’s daily consumption \u2014 even though world oil supplies are abundant and some regions, including the majority of the European Union, are in recession.<\/p>\n
At the end of a meeting at its headquarters in Vienna, OPEC said that steady prices in recent months showed that the market was “adequately supplied” and that no action was needed.<\/p>\n
Oil prices have traded in a range between $88 and $98 per barrel through the first five months of the year. The average for the year is $94.01 per barrel, just 13 cents less than the 2012 average.<\/p>\n
OPEC has been producing more oil than members agreed to, helping to boost global supplies. Analysts say that could lead to lower prices in the coming months.<\/p>\n
“In view of the current oversupply and in the absence of any positive surprises from OPEC, oil prices are likely to remain under pressure,” said analysts at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.<\/p>\n
Prices are also being pressured by weak economic outlooks around the world. When economies slow, drivers, shippers and travelers use less gasoline, diesel and jet fuel.<\/p>\n
Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro rose to a record 12.2% in April, according to data released Friday. <\/p>\n
The region is mired in its longest recession since the shared currency was introduced in 1999.<\/p>\n
The U.S. economy, meanwhile, grew at a modest 2.4% annual rate from January through March, slightly slower than initially estimated. <\/p>\n
That, teamed with higher oil production and the use of more fuel-efficient vehicles, has sent the nation’s oil supplies soaring.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Energy Department said the nation’s supply of oil rose last week by 3 million barrels to 397.6 million barrels, the highest level since the government started collecting the data in 1978.<\/p>\n
{AP}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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