Oil futures lost more ground on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 9.4 million-barrel jump in crude-oil supplies for the week ended March 18. That was bigger than the 8.8 million-barrel increase reported by the American Petroleum Institute, and more than triple the rise of 2.7 million barrels expected by analysts polled by Platts. Gasoline supplies dropped by 4.6 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles edged up by 900,000 barrels last week, according to the EIA. May crude was at $40.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down $1.08, or 2.6%. Prices traded at $40.55 before the data.
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