Oil futures gained more ground Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a surprise decline in crude supplies.
Crude supplies fell 1.3 million barrels for the week ended March 15. Analysts polled by Platts expected a two-million-barrel climb.
Motor gasoline supplies decreased by 1.5 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell by 700,000 barrels, the EIA report said.
Analysts forecast a fall of 2.5 million barrels in gasoline inventories and a decline of 1.5 million barrels in distillate supplies.
Following the latest data, April crude traded at $92.68 U.S. a barrel, up 52 cents, or 0.6%.
It was trading around $92.59 U.S. shortly before the report. The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday a 413,000-barrel fall in crude supplies.
