The price of oil pared its gains Wednesday after the government reported a massive increase in crude stockpiles, but lingering concerns about Tropical Storm Fay kept prices higher for the day. The Energy Information Administration, an arm of the US Energy Department, said the nation's crude inventories rose by a hefty 9.4 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 15. That figure was much higher than the average analyst forecast for a 1.7 million-barrel increase, according to energy information provider Platts. However, the EIA also reported that gasoline inventories shrank by 6.2 million barrels during the week - a larger decline than the 3 million-barrel drop analysts expected. And distillate inventories - which include heating oil and diesel fuel - rose by 0.5 million barrels, less than the 1.2 million barrels anticipated. Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 24 cents to $114.77 a barrel in late morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising above $116 a barrel in earlier trading. The September contract expires on Wednesday. In London, October Brent crude gained 82 cents to $114.07 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
