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Oil falls below $80 a barrel
Oil prices dropped below $80 a barrel yesterday to the lowest this year, pressured by a US inventory report showing rises in crude and distillate fuel stocks despite severe winter weather. Crude stocks, expected to rise 1.2m barrels, increased by 3.7m, the Energy Information Administration said. And inventories of distillates, forecast to fall, rose by 1.4m barrels.