U.S. oil supplies rose by 1.4 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 8, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.
That contrasted with expectations of a fall by two million barrels, according to analysts surveyed by Platts.
Supplies of gasoline decreased by 1.2 million barrels, and stockpiles of distillates, which include heating oil, were down by 2.4 million barrels, the EIA added.
Analysts polled by Platts had expected gasoline stocks to decline 1.5 million barrels, and distillate stocks were seen up 250,000 barrels.
Crude-oil for September delivery recently traded at $96.92 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, off 47 cents, or 0.4%. It was trading around $97.20 U.S. a barrel before the supply report.
