Oil prices fall as supplies grow

WASHINGTON — Oil prices fell Wednesday after government data showed U.S. inventories of crude grew last week, surprising many traders and analysts who had expected supplies to shrink due to lingering output problems caused by Hurricane Ivan.

Contributing to the drop in prices was word of a tentative agreement between the Nigerian government and the leader of a militia group that had threatened to target foreign oil firms and their workers.

Light sweet crude for November delivery fell 39 cents to settle at $49.51 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after rising above $50 a barrel Tuesday.

Meantime, the price of natural gas futures surged, rising by nearly 9 percent.