Oil lower after US inventory report

Oil prices are down after the US government reported that the nation's inventories of crude oil, gasoline and heating oil were…

Oil prices are down after the US government reported that the nation's inventories of crude oil, gasoline and heating oil were smaller than expected last week.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery is down $2.86 at $106.56 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Energy Department said crude supplies rose by 200,000 barrels last week. The market expected a much larger 2.1 million barrel increase.

Meanwhile, gasoline inventories shrank, surprising analysts who predicted an increase. And heating oil stockpiles fell than expected.