EIA reports a decline in U.S. crude supply, but gasoline stocks jump

The Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that domestic crude supplies declined by 2.7 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 11. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expected the EIA to report a smaller fall of 250,000 barrels in crude supplies, while sources said the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a decline of 560,000 barrels. Gasoline stockpiles, however, climbed by 7.5 million barrels last week, while distillate stockpiles rose by 3 million barrels, according to the EIA. The S&P Global Platts survey had shown expectations for supply increases of 2.6 million barrels for gasoline and 900,000 barrels in distillates. February West Texas Intermediate crude was down 4 cents, or less than 0.1%, at $52.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading at $52.23 before the data.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.