Oil prices briefly pared losses Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a climb of 2.8 million barrels in crude supplies for the week ended Oct. 30. That matched the increase reported by the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday.
Analysts polled by Platts expected supplies to be up by 2.45 million barrels. Gasoline supplies fell by 3.3 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles declined by 1.3 million barrels last week, according to the EIA.
December crude traded as high as $47.74 U.S. a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange shortly after the data were released, then pulled back to $47.33 U.S., down 57 cents, or 1.2%. Prices traded at $47.52 U.S. before the report.
