Oil falls slightly, supply data eyed

NEW YORK (AP) -- The price of oil fell slightly Tuesday as traders awaited the latest report on oil supplies and gasoline demand.

Benchmark oil for July delivery fell 14 cents to finish at $93.31 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Data showing that manufacturing activity in the U.S. slowed in the month of May boosted energy markets Monday because traders believed the weaker the economy could push the Federal Reserve to continue its monetary stimulus measures.

Traders will now be monitoring fresh information on U.S. stockpiles of crude and refined products. Data from the Energy Department for the week ending May 31 is expected to show a decline of 1 million barrels in crude oil stocks and a build of 1 million barrels in gasoline stocks, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill.

The American Petroleum Institute will release its report on oil stocks later Tuesday, while the report from the Energy Information Administration — the market benchmark — will be out on Wednesday.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of gas held steady at $3.62. That's 3 cents higher than at this time last year.

Brent crude, a benchmark for many international oil varieties, rose $1.18 to end at $103.24 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange:

— Wholesale gasoline added 3 cents to finish at $2.82 a gallon.

— Heating oil rose 3 cents to end at $2.86 per gallon.

— Natural gas rose 1 cent to finish at $4 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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Pablo Gorondi in Budapest and Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report.