Oil Edges Lower As U.S. Crude Supplies Fall, But Gasoline Stocks Unexpectedly Rise

Oil prices edged lower Wednesday after data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that domestic crude supplies fell for the week ended April 14, but gasoline inventories unexpectedly climbed. Crude supplies fell by 1 million barrels. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a decline of 840,000 barrels, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a fall of 50,000 barrels. Gasoline stockpiles, however, edged up by 1.5 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles were down by 2 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. The S&P Global Platts survey had forecast declines for both products. May crude fell 6 cents, or 0.1%, to $52.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading nearly flat at $52.42 before the supply data.