Oil futures extend losses after EIA reports a surprise weekly increase in U.S. crude supplies

The Energy Information Administration reported Friday that U.S. crude inventories rose by 4.4 million barrels for the week ended Jan. 15. The data, which were delayed by two days because of Monday’s Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and Wednesday’s U.S. presidential inauguration, compared with the average decline of 2.5 million barrels forecast by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts. The American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday reported a 2.6 million-barrel increase. The EIA data also showed crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., storage hub declined by 4.7 million barrels for the week. Gasoline supply, meanwhile, fell by 300,000 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles were up by 500,000 barrels. The S&P Global Platts survey had forecast supply increases of 2.7 million barrels for gasoline and 600,000 barrels for distillates. March West Texas Intermediate crude
CLH21,
-0.55%
extended losses after the data, trading down 67 cents, or 1.2%, at $52.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices were at $52.49 before the supply data.