Oil prices dipped Wednesday with more evidence that the US is using less energy while oil and gasoline stockpiles continue to grow. Benchmark crude for January delivery dropped $1.77, or more than 2 percent, to settle at $76.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for January delivery fell $1.76 to $77.61 on the ICE Futures exchange. The Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that oil supplies grew last week, a surprise to most analysts, and that the amount of gasoline in storage surged by 4 million barrels. The reason is that refineries, which turn crude in to fuel, are cutting back on production with fewer consumers and businesses buying it. Demand for gasoline slumped during the Thanksgiving week. The EIA reported refineries had slowed operations dramatically, running at less than 80 percent capacity for only the second week this year.
