With the rising demands of the U. S. fuel and a 3.5 % increase in the value of Dollar against the six major currencies, the price of the crude oil fell below $77 per barrel.

"The U. S. dollar has rebounded, as it was pretty much oversold previously", said Peter McGuire, managing director of Commodity Warrants Australia in Sydney.

The analysts claim that the demands for the fuel will grow during the year.

"The demand profile remains robust, with growth outpacing supply-side additions. With even the middle of the barrel likely to show some relative improvement in the second quarter, the likely price momentum remains skewed to the upside, in our view", quoted the Barclays Capital, in a report.

Due to the snowy weather, most of the motorists in U. K. avoided moving out, thereby contributing to the fall in the consumption of gasoline to its lowest mark.

According to API, the U. S. crude oil inventories went down by 63,000 barrels, the previous week.

The industry-funded API collects stockpile data on a voluntary basis from operators of refineries, bulk terminals and pipelines. The Government requires that reports be filed with the Energy Department for its weekly survey.