Oil climbs as EIA posts hefty fall in crude supply ( CL2G ) (by Myra P. Saefong)

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude futures added to gains Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a bigger-than-expected drop of 10.6 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies for the week ended Dec. 16. Motor gasoline supplies also fell 400,000 barrels, while distillate stocks declined by 2.4 barrels in the latest week, the EIA report said. Analysts polled by Platts expected data to show that crude-oil stocks fell by 2.25 million barrels. They also forecasted a rise of 1.75 million-barrel in gasoline supplies and a decline of 600,000 barrels in distillate inventories. Following the news, February crude (cl2g) rose $1.73, or 1.8%, at $98.97 a barrel.

API data show big drop in crude-oil supplies ( CL2G ) by Myra P. Saefong

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil supplies fell by 4.6 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 16, the American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday. Gasoline inventories also declined by 394,000 barrels, while distillate inventories fell 2.8 million barrels, the trade group said. Analysts polled by Platts expected data to show that crude-oil stocks fell by 2.25 million barrels for the week ending Dec. 16. They also forecast a rise of 1.75 million-barrel in gasoline supplies and a decline of 600,000 barrels in distillate inventories. Following the data, February crude (cl2g) was 24 cents higher in electronic trading. The contract had closed at $97.24 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The API's figures come ahead of Wednesday's more closely watched Energy Information Administration report.