Oil keeps gain after higher-than-expected supply (by Claudia Assis)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures held to gains Wednesday after a weekly supply report showed a higher-than-expected increase in U.S. inventories. Crude for December delivery (cl1z) added $1, or 1.1%, to $93.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices first reacted negatively to the report, trimming some gains, but resumed climbing afterwards. The Energy Information Administration reported an increase of 1.8 million barrels in crude supplies in the week ended Oct. 28. Analysts polled by Platts had expected to see a rise of 1.1 million barrels. The EIA also reported a rise of 1.4 million barrels for gasoline supplies, and a decrease of 3.6 million barrels for stockpiles of distillates. The Platts analysts had expected a decline in gasoline inventories by 1.5 million barrels, and a decrease of 2.2 million barrels for distillates.