Crude oil rose above $72 a barrel after the government's weekly inventory report showed a smaller than expected increase in crude supplies.

For the week ended 5 March the Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories increased by 1.4m barrels, less than expectations of a 2.1m barrel gain, implying greater than expected demand.

Gasoline inventories fell by 2.9m, much bigger than the decline of 338,000 barrels forecast by analysts. Distillates, used in heating oil, also dropped a more than expected 2.2m barrels.

Crude for April delivery hit an intra-day high of $83.03 before settling up 60 cents at $82.09 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Upbeat sentiment about the economic recovery also buoyed demand for oil. Strong import data from China and easing concern about Greece's debt crisis spurred demand for oil.

Gold for April delivery settled $1.70 lower at $1,122.30 an ounce as the euro firmed against the dollar. Analysts said caution ahead of Chinese economic data on Thursday weighed on gold prices.

Copper for May delivery ended 4 cents lower at $3.36 a pound.

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