Oil prices trim fall after data shows rise in crude inventories, declines for gasoline, distillates

Oil futures trimmed a decline after government data showed a rise in U.S. crude inventories last week alongside declines in gasoline and distillate supplies. Crude inventories rose 700,000 barrels, the Energy Information Administration said. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a rise of 600,000 barrels. But the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday had reported a 4.78 million barrel rise, sources said. The EIA said gasoline inventories fell by 1.6 million barrels last week, versus analyst expectations for a rise of 100,000 barrels, while distillate stocks fell 1.4 million barrels, compared to expectations for a drop of 100,000 barrels. West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was down 52 cents, or 0.5%, at $101.18 a barrel after trading as low as $99.80 at its session low.

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