Oil prices fell Wednesday following an international energy watchdog's forecast of slower-than-expected demand growth and a Department of Energy report that showed rising supplies of heating oil and diesel, according to AP. While these factors brought some relief to the market, traders remained concerned about storm-related output disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico, which they partly blamed for the decline in U.S. crude oil inventories that showed up in the U.S. energy agency's weekly report. Light sweet crude for August delivery fell 61 cents to settle at $60.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The front-month Nymex crude futures contract had its peak settlement of $61.28 on July 6, when storm-related power outages disrupted some oil production and refining operations in the Gulf of Mexico, stirring up fears about lost output at a time of strong global demand. Hurricane Dennis did not cause as much damage as the market expected. A non-producing oil platform operated by BP PLC was left listing in the deep sea in the storm's wake, however _ an image that was broadcast on television and which only served to solidify traders' worries about what could happen. --More 2346 Local Time 2046 GMT
