By Claudia Assis
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures pared some of their gains Thursday after a weekly government report on supplies closely matched a trade group's data a day earlier. Crude for October delivery CLV2 +1.71% advanced $1.51, or 1.6%, to $96.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil traded at $97.36 a barrel moments before the release, and held to such gains in the first moments after the data. The Energy Information Administration reported a decline of 7.4 million barrels in crude supplies in the week ended Aug. 31. Analysts polled by Platts had expected a decline of 5 million, and the American Petroleum Institute reported a decline of 7.2 million on Wednesday. The EIA also reported gasoline stockpiles were down 2.3 million barrels, and supplies of distillates were up 1 million barrels.
