Oil futures traded above $43 a barrel early Thursday ahead of data expected to show a build in U.S. crude supplies last week. Crude oil for March delivery gained 27 cents to $43.80 a barrel in electronic trading on Globex. The Energy Information Administration will report its latest data at 11 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, a day late because of the holiday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, and the presidential inauguration on Tuesday. Analysts expect a buildup of 1.9 million barrels in U.S. commercial crude inventories for the week ended Jan. 16, according to a Platts survey.
