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NEW YORK, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices dropped on Tuesday, with U.S. crude hitting three-month lows, as rising U.S. crude rigs and fuel inventories spurred market concerns that another glut is building up.
Oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that the number of rigs operating in the U.S. fields rose by 14 to 371 in the week ending July 22, the fourth weekly increase in a row.
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in its weekly report on Wednesday that U.S. gasoline inventories posted a surprise build of 911,000 barrels last week, marking the highest level since April.
Analysts said recent data have intensified fears on oversupply in the market, which weighed on oil prices.
Brent crude pared losses in late trading after earlier dipping to 44 U.S. dollars a barrel on Tuesday.
The West Texas Intermediate for September delivery lost 0.21 U.S. dollars to settle at 42.92 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for September delivery added 0.15 U.S. dollars to close at 44.87 U.S. dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange. Enditem
