Oil prices cut losses after EIA says crude supplies rose 3.5 million barrels
Oil futures pared losses on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 3.5 million-barrel climb in crude-oil supplies for the week ended Feb. 19. That was below the 7.1 million-barrel increase reported by the American Petroleum Institute, but above the rise of 3 million barrels expected by analysts polled by Platts. Gasoline supplies fell 2.2 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles declined by 1.7 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. April crude was at $31.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 50 cents, or 1.6%. Prices traded at $30.92 before the data.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.