U.S. Crude Oil Supplies Rise Unexpectedly

U.S. crude oil inventories rose unexpectedly last week as imports jumped to a six-month high, an industry report showed.

Supplies posted their largest gain in a year, rising 2.4%, to 325.6 million barrels, the American Petroleum Institute said. Analysts had expected a decline of about 1.7 million barrels.

Imports rose more than 9% for a second straight week, climbing to 9.99 million barrels a day, the highest level since late October.

Crude oil futures fell after the report was released, with the June contract dropping 39 cents to $26.90 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.