EIA Reports 9th Consecutive Weekly Increase in US Crude Supply

US oil prices reduced some of their previous gains on Wednesday, after the Energy Information Administration announced that supplies of domestic crude had increased for the ninth consecutive week. Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal forecast an increase of 1.9 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute announced Tuesday a drop of about 1.5 million barrels, according to sources. Gasoline inventories fell 1.3 million barrels last week, while distillate inventories fell by 100,000 barrels, according to EIA. The Wall Street Journal survey had shown supply-side forecasts of 400,000 barrels of gasoline and 2.3 million barrels of distillates. Gross January

CLF9, + 3.41%

was 61 cents, or 1.1%, at $ 54.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading at $ 54.40 before supply data.

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