By Moming Zhou
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures extended their gains Wednesday after the Energy Information Administration data showed a bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude inventories as imports fell. Crude inventories fell 4.9 million barrels, the EIA said. Analysts polled by Platts had expected a drop of 2 million barrels. Gasoline inventories fell 900,000 barrels, and distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 3.1 million barrels. After the data, February crude rose 2.5% to $76.27 a barrel. It was up less than 2% before the data.
