NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Oil prices sank Wednesday after a weekly government report showed a surprise build in crude supplies and the Federal Reserve said it will continue to hold interest rates near zero.
What prices are doing: Crude oil futures for August delivery slipped $1.50, or 1.9%, to settle at $76.35 a barrel. Earlier, the price fell as much as 3.4% to $75.17 a barrel.
The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gas increased to $2.741, up 0.9 cent from the previous day's $2.732, according AAA.
What's moving the market: The Energy Information Administration reported a surge in crude stocks of 2 million barrels in the week ended June 18, surprising analysts who were expecting a drop of 1.5 million barrels, according to a consensus estimate collected by energy information provider Platts.
Analysts said the supply rose because of an increase in imports. U.S. crude oil imports averaged 10.1 million barrels per day last week. During the last month, crude imports have averaged 9.7 million per day.
Gasoline stockpiles fell by 800,000 barrels, according to the EIA report, slightly more than the 500,000-barrel drop analysts had forecast.
The government report also showed that distillates, used to make heating oil and diesel, rose by a modest 300,000 barrels. Analysts were expecting inventories to rise by 1.4 million barrels.
The Federal Reserve concluded a 2-day monetary policy meeting Wednesday and said it will hold its benchmark rate at historic lows near 0%. Although "economic recovery is proceeding and that the labor market is improving gradually," the central bank said the pace of an upturn will "be moderate for some time."
What analysts are saying: "The reason we're seeing such downward pressure on oil prices is because crude imports were much higher than expected," said Chris Lafakis, associate economist at Moody's Economy.com. "The current level is too high to keep crude inventories stable."
Lafakis said U.S. oil refineries have already increased consumption to keep up with the summer driving season, as demand for petroleum is up 7% from a year ago.
But imports have increased because OPEC member countries have boosted oil production to capitalize on higher oil prices. 
| Overnight Avg Rate | Latest | Change | Last Week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 yr fixed | 3.80% | 3.88% | |
| 15 yr fixed | 3.20% | 3.23% | |
| 5/1 ARM | 3.84% | 3.88% | |
| 30 yr refi | 3.82% | 3.93% | |
| 15 yr refi | 3.20% | 3.23% |
Today's featured rates:
| Index | Last | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dow | 32,627.97 | -234.33 | -0.71% |
| Nasdaq | 13,215.24 | 99.07 | 0.76% |
| S&P 500 | 3,913.10 | -2.36 | -0.06% |
| Treasuries | 1.73 | 0.00 | 0.12% |
| Company | Price | Change | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ford Motor Co | 8.29 | 0.05 | 0.61% |
| Advanced Micro Devic... | 54.59 | 0.70 | 1.30% |
| Cisco Systems Inc | 47.49 | -2.44 | -4.89% |
| General Electric Co | 13.00 | -0.16 | -1.22% |
| Kraft Heinz Co | 27.84 | -2.20 | -7.32% |
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