NYMEX crude oil prices fall after U.S. inventory report

        Nymex crude prices fell on Thursday after a soft U.S. inventory report.

On Wednesday the New York-traded oil futures hit a session low of USD100.12 a barrel and a high of USD100.36 a barrel to settle at USD100.37 a barrel.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in March traded at USD100.20 a barrel during Asian trading, down 0.19%.

Nymex oil futures were likely to find support at USD99.11 a barrel, Monday's low, and resistance at USD102.95 a barrel, the high from Oct. 16.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 3.3 million barrels in the week ended Feb. 7 compared to expectations for an increase of 2.7 million barrels.

Total U.S. crude oil inventories stood at 361.4 million barrels as of last week.

The report also showed that total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 1.9 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a drop of 50,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles declined by 731,000 barrels.

OPEC, meanwhile, said world oil demand should grow at a slightly faster rate than previously expected in 2014. They cartel now sees growth of 1.09 million barrels a day, up from a previous estimate of 1.05 million barrels per day, which bolstered prices.

Elsewhere, on the ICE Futures Exchange in London, Brent oil futures for April delivery were down 0.05% and trading at 108.27 a barrel, while the spread between the Brent and U.S. crude contracts stood at 8.06 a barrel. - investing.com