Oil inventories creep up, trade group says

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch)
Crude-oil inventories rose 462,000 barrels in the week ended Dec. 9, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday.
Inventories of gasoline declined 12,000 barrels, while supplies of distillates rose 1.2 million barrels, the trade group said.
The API report comes ahead of the more closely watched official data by the Energy Information Administration, due Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Platts expect a decline of 2 million barrels for crude, an increase of 2 million for gasoline, and a rise of 500,000 barrels for distillates.