Oil futures pared gains Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a modest increase in crude supplies, along with a bigger-than-expected jump in gasoline inventories for the week ended December 7. Crude supplies rose by 800,000 barrels.
Analysts polled by Platts expected a 2.5-million-barrel decline. Motor gasoline supplies climbed by five million barrels, while distillate stocks added three million barrels, the EIA report said.
Analysts had forecast a rise of 2.5 million barrels for gasoline inventories and a climb of 1.25 million barrels in distillate supplies. Following the latest data, January crude traded at $86.53 U.S. a barrel, up 74 cents, or 0.9%.
It was trading around $86.87 U.S. ahead of the report. The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday that crude supplies rose 4.3 million barrels last week.
