Gasoline Reverses Loss After Report Supplies Shrank Last Week
February 23, 2012, 11:35 AM ESTBy David Marino
Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Gasoline futures reversed a loss after the Energy Department reported stockpiles fell unexpectedly last week.
The government said inventories of gasoline declined 649,000 barrels to 231.5 million in the seven days ended Feb. 17. The median estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 250,000-barrel increase.
March-delivery gasoline gained 0.3 cent to $3.0907 a gallon at 11:06 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices were $3.0815 before the report’s release at 11 a.m. in Washington.
The government said heating oil and diesel inventories fell 208,000 barrels to 143.5 million in the week ended Feb. 17. Analysts forecast a 1.5 million-barrel decrease, according to the survey.
Heating oil for March delivery rose 0.22 cent to $3.2746 a gallon, from $3.281 before the report.
--Editors: David Marino, Bill Banker
To contact the reporter on this story: David Marino in New York at dmarino4@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bill Banker at bbanker@bloomberg.net
