: Oil futures give up gains to finish with a modest loss

Oil futures briefly traded higher Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration reported the biggest weekly decline in U.S. crude supplies so far this year, but prices finished slightly lower for the session. The big jump in refinery runs reported by the EIA caused some traders to adjust the crack spread, said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at The Price Futures Group. The adjustments likely led some traders to lighten up their positions in oil, he said. Meanwhile, the market is still “apprehensive because the banking crisis and liquidity is still a “bit sketchy.” May West Texas Intermediate crude CLK23fell 23 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $72.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded as high as $74.37 during the session, the highest intraday level for a front-month contract since March 14, FactSet data show.

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