US gasoline futures fall 2 pct on ample supplies

NEW YORK Jan 27 (Reuters) - U.S. front-month gasoline futures slumped more than 2 percent on Thursday, taking a toll from a four-week rise in inventories and as a series of snowstorms curtailed road travel that has reduced demand.

Investors also turned cautious as the February RBOB contract RBG1 expires on Monday, with prospects of more pressure as investors close long positions.

"We've seen pretty big weekly builds in gasoline supplies lately and demand has been inhibited by adverse weather conditions in major metropolitan areas. In other words, demand is less while we have robust supply," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Illinois.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, February RBOB RBG1 settled down 4.9 cents, or 2.02 percent, at $2.3816 a gallon.

The next contract, March RBOB RBH1, ended 4.34 cents lower, or 1.77 percent, at $2.4132.

The March contract's crack spread against March crude CLH1, the gauge of refiners' profit when crude is processed into fuel, has unseasonally surged to $17.53, the widest since May 17, 2010, when it hit $18.36. RB-CL1=R. U.S. crude oil prices fell faster than refined product on talk of higher OPEC output.

In the four weeks that ended Jan. 21, U.S. gasoline inventories have risen 15.2 million barrels, or 6.6 percent, to 230.1 million barrels, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed. [EIA/S]

"You see a big increase in gasoline stocks because there's snow everywhere and you can't get people to travel much," said Mark Waggoner, president of Excel Futures.

With domestic stocks of gasoline already ample, supply continues to rise as cargoes make their way to U.S. shores.

Taking advantage of the higher U.S. prices, Europe has earlier this month shipped stateside seven cargoes, or about 2 million barrels, cash market traders said.

Last week, demand for gasoline fell 144,000 barrels per day, or 1.6 percent, to 8.63 million bpd, EIA data showed.

Other than the weather, motorists have been deterred from making extended trips by sharply higher pump prices.

Gasoline prices at the pump have been on the rise for eight straight weeks as of last week hitting a national average of $3.11 a gallon. That was 41 cents, or 15.2 percent, higher than last year at this time, EIA data showed. (Reporting by Gene Ramos, Jeffrey Kerr and Selam Gebrekidan; Editing by Marguerita Choy)