Oil stocks up 3.6 million barrels: trade group (by Claudia Assis)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil supplies rose 3.6 million barrels on the week ended Feb. 17, a trade group said late Wednesday. The American Petroleum Institute reported its weekly supply data a day later due to Presidents Day holiday. The API said gasoline supplies rose 314,000 barrels, while distillates stockpiles were up 630,000. The Energy Information Administration reports official data Thursday, also a day later than usual. Analysts polled by Platts expect crude-oil supplies up 1.7 million barrels, gasoline stockpiles down 450,000 barrels, and distillates inventories down 1.8 million barrels. Oil futures (clj2) ended at a nine-month high on Wednesday at $106.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.