Oil Fell on US Inventories' Unpredictable Rise

Oil prices fell in Asian trading Friday after the U.S. Energy Department said U.S. crude inventories rose by the most in more than four years.

Light, sweet crude for February delivery dropped 8 cents to $50.40 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange mid-afternoon in Singapore. Overnight in New York, the contract briefly fell below $50 a barrel for the first time since May 2005 before settling at $50.48.