Oil Dips on Weak Demand, High Inventory

NEW YORK, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices edged lower on Tuesday as weak oil demand and speculation on a jump in gasoline inventories weighed on the market.

Crude futures initially rose to above 77 U.S. dollars a barrel as the weakening dollar helped divert investors' attention to the energy commodities.

But oil prices reversed and fell to the near-76-dollar level after a report suggested low oil demand in the United States, the world's biggest oil consumption country. MasterCard Inc., the second-biggest payments network company, said that fuel demand dropped by 0.2 percent to 8.98 million barrels a day in the week ended on Sept. 24.

Market expectation of an increase in gasoline supply, which is already at a six-month high, further pressured the oil prices.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 34 cents to settle at 76.18 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent crude for November delivery inched higher by 8 cents to 78.65 dollars a barrel on the International Futures Exchange in London.