Oil prices pare losses on less-than-expected rise in U.S. inventories

Oil prices pared much of early losses on Thursday as a weekly government report showed U.S. crude inventories rose less than expected.

The Energy Information Administration said Thursday that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories climbed 7.7 million to a record high level of 425.6 million barrels last week, the sixth consecutive week that inventories were at a seasonal record peak.

The latest reading missed the estimate of 14.3 million barrels by industry group American Petroleum Institute (API) on Wednesday.

Analysts said the number was still bearish though it was below API projection. Crude prices pared some losses but still went lower than the previous session. Brent crude for April delivery touched 63 U.S. dollars a barrel on Tuesday, the highest since Dec. 18, 2014.

Crude prices were supported earlier this week as energy producers planned to slash investment and rig count this year in face of historically low crude prices, which investors saw as sign for lower production in the future.

Light, sweet crude for March delivery moved down 0.98 U.S. dollar to settle at 51.16 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for April delivery dropped 0.32 U.S. dollar to close at 60.21 dollars a barrel. Enditem