API data reportedly show a weekly decline of more than 8 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies

The American Petroleum Institute reported late Tuesday that U.S. crude supplies fell by 8.5 million barrels for the week ended June 11, according to sources. The API report reportedly also showed gasoline stockpiles up by nearly 2.9 million barrels, while distillate inventories climbed by almost 2 million barrels. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., storage hub, meanwhile, edged down by 1.5 million barrels for the week, sources said. Inventory data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday. On average, the EIA is expected to show crude inventories down by 4.2 million barrels, according to a survey of analysts conducted by S&P Global Platts. The survey also calls for gasoline supplies to stand unchanged for the week, while distillate stockpiles climb by 200,000 barrels. July West Texas Intermediate crude was at $72.39 barrel in electronic trading, after settling Tuesday at $72.12 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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