Oil prices eased on Wednesday after a U.S. petroleum supply report sent the market mixed signals on the state of fuel inventories in the world's number one energy consumer. U.S. light sweet crude for September delivery ended 9 cents down at $59.11 a barrel after rising as much as 50 cents after gasoline supplies fell in the U.S. report. London Brent crude dropped 2 cents to $58.01 a barrel. U.S gasoline inventories fell last week by 2.1 million barrels, or about 1 percent, amid peak summer driving season demand, far exceeding an 800,000-barrel drop expected among analysts polled by Reuters. But distillate inventories rose for the tenth consecutive week. The rise of 2.7 million barrels in the week to July 22 exceeded by a million barrels expectations for a 1.7 million barrel build. "We're starting to build a nice little distillate supply cushion," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch and Associates in Illinois. Distillates have long been the focus of the oil markets amid concern that refiners would struggle to meet growing diesel demand when it combines with winter demand for heating oil later this year. Distillate stocks include both diesel and heating oil. Crude stocks fell 2.3 million barrels, as expected.
