West Texas Intermediate crude dropped for a fourth day after a government report showed inventories of gasoline and distillate fuels unexpectedly increased.

Futures fell as much as 0.7 percent. The Energy Information Administration said gasoline inventories rose 135,000 barrels to 223.6 million last week. Stockpiles were forecast to decrease 500,000 barrels, according to the median of 11 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey. Distillate supplies, which include diesel and heating oil, gained 469,000 barrels to 126.5 million. They were estimated to remain unchanged from the prior week, the survey showed.

Inventories of crude oil fell 1.32 million barrels to 363.3 million, the department said. Supplies were forecast to slide 1.5 million barrels. They surged to 397.6 million on May 24, the most since 1931, according to the EIA, the Energy Department’s statistical unit.

Crude production rose 0.2 percent to 7.56 million barrels a day last week, the highest level since December 1989, the EIA said. Output has surged as the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has unlocked supplies trapped in shale formations in the central part of the country.

WTI crude for September delivery fell 28 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $105.02 a barrel at 10:48 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract traded at $105.43 before the release of the EIA report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington. The volume of all futures traded was 12 percent below the 100-day average.

Brent oil for September settlement dropped 60 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $107.58 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange. Volume was 18 percent above the 100-day average. The European benchmark grade traded at a $2.56 premium to WTI, down from $2.88 yesterday.

Gold prices are close to the minimum of three weeks after the publication of strong U.S. trade data and comments Fed officials that have increased fears that the central bank will reduce the incentives in September.

From the beginning, gold fell by nearly 25 percent after 12 years of growth, as the market expects the Fed to reduce ongoing program of buying up bonds. In a seasonal decline in demand in the physical market, investors are closely watching the U.S. macroeconomic statistics. The U.S. trade deficit in June fell to a minimum of 3.5 years $ 34.22 billion.

The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Charles Evans reiterated on Tuesday that the central bank may begin reducing incentives in September or later in the year depending on economic data.

Chinese gold imports from Hong Kong's main supplier in June fell by 4 percent compared to May, but held above 100 tons. Premiums in India on Tuesday declined due to lack of demand in the physical market, while traders use stockpiles in the absence of new imports.

The cost of the October gold futures on COMEX today rose to $ 1285.80 per ounce.

Change % Change Last

GOLD 1,282.40 -20.20 -1.55%

OIL (WTI) 105.48 -1.08 -1.01%