Oil prices fell after an unexpected rise in U.S. inventories

Oil prices fell after an industry group reported a rise in U.
S.
crude inventories last week, bucking analysts' expectations for a sharp decline
.

Brent futures fell 40 cents, or 0.
6 percent, to $71.
76 a barrel
.
Oil prices rose 32 cents to $
72.
16 a barrel on Tuesday after hitting a three-month low earlier.

U.
S.
West Texas mid-rate crude fell 27 cents, or 0.
4 percent
, to $67.
82.
The stock closed at $68.
08 a barrel compared to the previous session, a near one-month low
.

Supply disruptions in Venezuela began to show up on Monday and last week, and analysts had been predicting a 3.
5 million barrel reduction in U.
S.
inventories in the week ending July 13, so the benchmark price has stabilized after a sharp decline
.

But the problem of oversupply soon returned, with the U.
S.
Petroleum Institute reporting late Tuesday that U.
S.
crude inventories had increased by more than 600,000 barrels
.