Oil holds gains on less-than-projected U.S. inventory rise

NEW YORK (Bloomberg) -- Oil maintained gains after a government report showed a smaller-than-anticipated U.S. crude inventory increase.

 

Crude inventories rose 1.32 MMbbl to 523.2 MMbbl last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. That kept supplies at the highest level since 1930. A 3.2 MMbbl supply gain was projected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Supplies of gasoline and distillate fuel, a category that includes diesel and heating oil, slipped.

 

West Texas Intermediate for April delivery advanced 96 cents, or 2.6%, to $37.30/bbl at 10:34 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell to $36.34 on Tuesday, the lowest settlement since March 4.

 

Brent for May settlement climbed $1.03, or 2.7%, to $39.77/bbl on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

 

Prices climbed earlier as some OPEC members planned to meet with other producers in April to resume talks on capping production. Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and some other producers plan to meet on April 17 in Doha to discuss a proposal to freeze output, according to Qatar’s energy minister.