Oil Hits Session Highs As EIA Reports a Third-straight Weekly Drop In U.S. Crude Supplies

Oil prices extended their earlier gains Wednesday to hit fresh session highs after data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed that domestic crude supplies fell by 4.7 million barrels for the week ended July 14. That topped the forecast for a decline of 3 million barrels by analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts. The American Petroleum Institute had reported late Tuesday a rise of 1.6 million barrels. Gasoline stockpiles also fell by 4.4 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles declined by 2.1 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. August crude rose 66 cents, or 1.4%, to $47.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded at $46.67 before the supply data.