Inventory Data Boost Energy

Updated from 12:26 p.m. EST

Energy futures took a bounce on Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration released surprisingly bullish crude oil inventory figures.

The near-term contract for crude oil closed the trading session $1.13 higher at $61.82 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline was up 5 cents at $1.90 a gallon, and heating oil climbed 2 cents to $1.77 a gallon.

Natural gas fell 10 cents to $7.37 per million British thermal units. New inventory figures for natural gas will be released Thursday.

Bank of America analysts were expecting crude oil inventories to increase by 1.8 million barrels during the week ended March 2, but stocks actually shrank by 4.8 million barrels. Analysts were expecting a 400,000-barrel decrease in gasoline inventories, but they in fact fell by 3.8 million barrels.

The distillate draw of 1.3 million barrels was also greater than projected.

Energy futures, which were already trading higher before the EIA figures were released, quickly spiked on the news.

"The crude inventory numbers surprised everybody," said Addison Armstrong, director of market research at TFS Research in Stamford, Conn. "Nobody expected a draw close to that size."

Energy prices have now erased most of their losses since crude oil fell last week below $60 from a high near $62. Wednesday was the first day in more than a week that energy commodities closed higher while equity markets finished lower.