Oil Holds Gains After EIA Shows a Smaller-than-expected Rise In Crude Supplies

Oil futures held onto their gains on Wednesday after theU.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 1.3 million-barrel rise in crude-oil supplies for the week ended March 11. That was less than the 1.5 million-barrel increase reported by the American Petroleum Institute, and below the rise of 2.7 million barrels expected by analysts polled by Platts. Gasoline supplies edged down by 700,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell 1.1 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. April crude was at $37.60 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.26, or 3.5%. Prices traded at $37.55 before the data.