Oil pares gains after steep supply drop

Crude-oil futures pared some of their gains Thursday after a weekly U.S. government report on supplies closely matched a trade group's data a day earlier.

Crude for October delivery advanced $1.51, or 1.6%, to $96.88 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil traded at $97.36 U.S. a barrel moments before the release, and held to such gains in the first moments after the data.

The Energy Information Administration reported a decline of 7.4 million barrels in crude supplies in the week ended Aug. 31. Analysts polled by Platts had expected a decline of five million, and the American Petroleum Institute reported a decline of 7.2 million on Wednesday.

The EIA also reported gasoline stockpiles were down 2.3 million barrels, and supplies of distillates were up one million barrels

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