NEW YORK (AP) — Oil dropped more than 2 percent Wednesday after the government said U.S. supplies of crude keep growing.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said crude supplies rose by 9 million barrels, or 2.5 percent, to 362.4 million barrels. That's more than 1 percent above year-ago levels.

The price of benchmark U.S. oil is down $2.28, or 2.2 percent, to $101.73 a barrel in midday trading in New York. It hasn't closed below $102 per barrel since Feb. 15.

In London, Brent crude fell by $1.78 to $123.07 per barrel at the ICE Futures exchange.

The decline coincides with a sell-off in U.S. stock markets. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 index are down more than 1 percent a day after the Federal Reserve indicated that further measures to boost economic growth were less likely.

Meanwhile, retail gasoline in the U.S. now averages $3.93 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. The price of gas has risen about 65 cents this year, although the pace of the increase has tapered off in the past week.

Demand remains weak at the pump and at the wholesale level. The EIA report said gasoline demand last week was almost 4 percent below the level at the same time last year.

In other energy trading, heating oil fell by 4.3 cents to $3.1846 per gallon and gasoline futures fell 5 cents to $3.3458 per gallon. Natural gas was unchanged at $2.1870 per 1,000 cubic feet.