Crude oil futures pared gains after a U.S. government report showed a bigger-than-forecast increase in inventories. Supplies rose 1.63 million barrels to 359.3 million in the week ended April 8, the Energy Department said today in a weekly report. Inventories were forecast to climb by 1 million barrels, according to the median of 16 analyst estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Crude oil for May delivery advanced 22 cents to $106.47 a barrel at 10:35 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil traded at $106.64 a barrel before the release of the report at 10:30 a.m. in Washington. Crude oil also rose as equities climbed, JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)’s earnings beat analyst estimates and retail sales climbed in the U.S., the world’s biggest oil-consuming country. JPMorgan, the biggest U.S. bank by assets, reported profit grew 67 percent to a second straight record as provisions for bad mortgages and credit-card loans tumbled. First-quarter net income climbed to $5.56 billion, or $1.28 a share, from $3.33 billion, or 74 cents, in the same period a year earlier and from $4.83 billion, or $1.12, in the fourth quarter, the New York-based company said today in a statement. The results beat the average per-share estimate for adjusted earnings of $1.15 by 26 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. The Commerce Department said sales at U.S. retailers rose in March for a ninth consecutive month, showing the improving job market is helping Americans cope with higher costs for fuel and food. Retail sales increased 0.4 percent following a 1.1 percent February gain that was larger than previously estimated, government figures showed today in Washington. “The retail sales today show that consumers aren’t pulling back, which is a good sign for the overall economy and demand,” said Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks & Opinions LLC in Houston. The U.S. economy created 216,000 jobs in March, the most since May 2010, while the jobless rate fell for a fourth straight month to a two-year low of 8.8 percent, Labor Department data showed April 1. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dan Stets at dstets@bloomberg.net.

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