based IEA, which revised its global demand growth outlook down by 200,000 barrels a day to 1.58 million barrels a day in 2005, citing a weaker outlook for China and the United States. However, the energy watchdog expects the pace of Chinese demand growth to pick up again in 2006. In its weekly supply report, the Energy Department said crude oil inventories fell by 3.9 million barrels to 321 million barrels, or 6 percent above year ago levels. Gasoline stocks declined by 2.7 million barrels to 212.6 million barrels, or 1 percent above last year. Also on Wednesday, traders watched Tropical Storm Emily, which was about 165 miles (265 kilometers) southeast of Barbados at midday, packing maximum sustained winds of 96 kph (60 mph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Hurricane Dennis rolled through the Gulf of Mexico last week, and while it caused minimal damage, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said the storm forced a halt in production of nearly 5 million barrels of crude from July 8 to July 12 _ less than 1 percent of the region's annual output.
