The Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported that crude inventories fell by 7.5 million barrels for the week ended March 24. On average, analysts forecast a decline of 5.5 million barrels, according to a survey by S&P Global Commodity Insights. The EIA report showed a weekly inventory decline of 2.9 million barrels for gasoline, while distillate supplies edged up by 300,000 barrels. The analyst survey had forecast supply decreases of 4.8 million barrels for gasoline and 2 million barrels for distillates. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., Nymex delivery hub fell by 1.6 million barrels for the week, the EIA said. May West Texas Intermediate crude CLK23 was up $1.01, or 1.4%, at $74.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, little changed from before the supply data.
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