EIA reports a surprise weekly climb of nearly 6 million barrels in U.S. crude supplies

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that crude supplies climbed by 5.8 million barrels for the week ended May 18. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts had forecast a decline of 1.7 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a fall of 1.3 million barrels, according to sources. Gasoline stockpiles also rose by 1.9 million barrels for the week, while distillate stockpiles fell 1 million barrels, according to the EIA. The S&P Global Platts survey forecast supply declines 620,000 barrels for gasoline and 1 million barrels for distillates. July crude was down 84 cents, or 1.2%, to $71.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down from $72.01 before the supply data.