Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Thursday showed that domestic crude supplies fell by 7.4 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 29. That was larger than the forecast for a decline of 5.7 million barrels from analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts. The American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday had reported a drop of 5 million barrels, according to sources. The EIA report, which was released a day late due to the New Year’s Day holiday, also said gasoline stockpiles climbed by 4.8 million barrels for the week, while distillate stockpiles jumped up by 8.9 million barrels. The S&P Global Platts survey forecast a supply rise of 2 million barrels for gasoline and an increase of 1.3 million barrels for distillates. February crude was up 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $61.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, little changed from before the supply data.
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