API Data Show An Unexpected Decline In U.S. Crude Supplies: Sources

The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a decline of 531,000 barrels in U.S. crude supplies for the week ended March 10, according to sources. That contradicted expectations for an increase of 3.5 million barrels forecast by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts. The API data also showed a fall of 3.9 million barrels in gasoline supplies and a drop of 4.1 million barrels in distillates, sources said. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday morning. April crude was at $48.45 a barrel in electronic trading, up from the contract’s settlement of $47.72 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.