Oil lower after unexpected inventories increase (by Claudia Assis)

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures on Wednesday turned lower after a weekly government report showed a surprise increase in inventories. Crude for October delivery (clv2) was off 5 cents, or 0.1%, to $97.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded at $97.24 a barrel before the data. The Energy Information Administration reported an increase of 2 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 7. That contrasted with analyst expectations of a decline of 3.3 million for crude, according to Platts. The EIA also reported a drop in gasoline inventories by 1.2 million barrels, and an increase for distillates by 1.5 million barrels. The analysts surveyed by Platts had expected gasoline inventories down 2.3 million, and stockpiles of distillates down 1.5 million.