Oil Dips Below $56 as Stockpiles Swell NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped below $56 a barrel on Wednesday, adding to a stretch of previous losses after the U.S. government reported an eighth straight weekly rise in crude oil stockpiles. U.S. light crude (CLc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) settled down 19 cents to $55.85 a barrel, more than $2 below Monday's all-time high of $58.28. London Brent crude (LCOc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) eased 17 cents to $55.27 a barrel. The U.S Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday morning that inventories of crude oil in the world's largest energy consumer rose more than two million barrels to the highest level since June 2002. U.S. stockpiles of crude have swelled about 8 percent in two months, the EIA said, helping to counter some lingering fears that rising global demand growth will outpace increases in production capacity. Tempering the bearish impact of the crude inventory rise, the EIA report also showed gasoline stocks fell by 2.1 million barrels as demand ran nearly 2 percent ahead of last year despite record high prices at the pump. Gasoline stocks fell even though refineries increased crude oil use to pump more as they emerged from maintenance ahead of the summer, when vacation driving demand peaks. "The key to this report is that crude runs are moving higher but we saw a significant draw in gasoline. That caught the market off guard," said Ed Silliere, Energy Merchant Intermarket Futures. THREAT TO ECONOMY Worries that rapid energy demand growth in Asia's emerging economies could outpace supply growth have helped send U.S. crude prices more than 30 percent higher so far this year. Heavy buying from big-money funds has helped fuel the gains. The head of the International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday that further sharp increases in oil prices could start to weigh on global growth. "So far the effects of higher oil prices on global growth and inflation have been manageable," Rodrigo Rato said in a speech prepared for delivery at Georgetown University in Washington. "But, further sharp increases may have more serious effects." Consuming countries need to work together to ensure market stability through better energy conservation, reduced obstacles to investment and improved transparency of oil data, he said.     Continued ... Quelle "Oil Dips Below $56 as Stockpiles Swell" : reuters.com Main page for "Oil Dips Below $56 as Stockpiles Swell"