OIL PRICES PLUNGED ANOTHER 3 PERCENT ON THURSDAY AS NEWS U.S. GASOLINE STOCKS HAD RISEN FOR THE FIRST TIME IN TWO MONTHS EASED SUPPLY WORRIES AHEAD OF THE SUMMER DRIVING SEASON, ACCORDING TO REUTERS. U.S. LIGHT SWEET CRUDE SETTLED DOWN $2.34 A BARREL AT $69.94, EXTENDING A NEARLY 7 PERCENT SLIDE IN TWO DAYS. BRENT FUTURES FELL $2.36 TO $70.29. "PEOPLE CAN TALK ABOUT GEOPOLITICS ALL THEY WANT, BUT GASOLINE IS BRINGING THIS MARKET DOWN," SAID JIM RITTERBUSCH OF RITTERBUSCH AND ASSOCIATES. "U.S. DEMAND IS SLOWING, AND REFINERS ARE COMING BACK ON LINE." A U.S. GOVERNMENT REPORT ON WEDNESDAY SHOWED GASOLINE INVENTORIES IN THE UNITED STATES, THE WORLD'S LARGEST ENERGY CONSUMER, UP 2.1 MILLION BARRELS LAST WEEK AS THE NATION'S REFINERS BOOSTED PRODUCTION AND DEMAND SLOWED. REFINERS UPPED PLANT UTILIZATION BY 0.6 PERCENTAGE POINTS TO 88.8 PERCENT OF CAPACITY, WHILE GASOLINE DEMAND OVER THE PAST FOUR WEEKS AVERAGED THE SAME AS A YEAR AGO -- INDICATING ZERO GROWTH IN CONSUMPTION. U.S. GASOLINE FUTURES SLUMPED 9.11 CENTS, OR 4.4 PERCENT, TO $1.9946 A GALLON. SOME ANALYSTS SAID THAT AMERICANS WERE SHOWING SIGNS OF SLIGHTLY ADJUSTING THEIR DRIVING HABITS TO EASE THE STING OF NEAR-RECORD RETAIL GASOLINE PRICES, USING SMALLER CARS AND CUTTING BACK ON DISCRETIONARY ROAD TRIPS. CRUDE OIL PRICES HAD STRUCK A RECORD LAST MONTH OF $75.35 A BARREL, DRIVEN LARGELY BY CONCERNS THAT IRAN'S FACE-OFF WITH THE WEST OVER ITS NUCLEAR AMBITIONS WOULD DISRUPT SUPPLIES FROM THE OPEC NATION. --MORE 2348 Local Time 2048 GMT
