Oil Gains More Ground After EIA Reports a 2.3 Million-barrel Rise In U.S. Crude Supplies

Oil futures gained more ground on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 2.3 million-barrel rise in crude-oil supplies for the week ended March 25. That was below the 2.6 million-barrel increase reported by the American Petroleum Institute, and close to the climb of 2 million barrels expected by analysts polled by Platts. Gasoline supplies fell by 2.5 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles edged down by 1.1 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. May crude was at $39.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.47, or 3.8%. Prices traded at $39.46 before the data.