Oil prices pared some of their earlier losses on Thursday after weekly data from the Energy Information Administration revealed that U.S. crude supplies fell by 400,000 barrels for the week ended Jan. 17.

Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a rise of 500,000 barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday reported an increase of 1.6 million barrels, according to sources. EIA and API data were each released a day later than usual because of Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. The EIA data also showed a supply climb of 1.7 million barrels for gasoline, but distillate stocks declined by 1.2 million barrels.

The S&P Global Platts survey had shown expectations for an increase in supplies of 3.3 million barrels for gasoline and 1.6 million barrels for distillates. March West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.48, or 2.6%, at 55.26 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading at $54.93 before the supply data.

Source : Marketwatch