Oil prices hovered below $103 a barrel Thursday in Asia after US crude supplies rose more than expected for a fourth week, a sign demand remains tepid. Benchmark oil for May delivery was up 25 cents to $102.92 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.53 to settle at $102.67 in New York on Wednesday. Brent crude for June delivery was up 35 cents to $118.32 per barrel in London. The Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that US crude oil supplies grew by 3.9 million barrels last week. Analysts expected an increase of 400,000 barrels. The government's weekly report also said that US gasoline demand fell 2.8 percent compared with a year ago.
