Crude-oil futures rose as the market awaited weekly US supply data expected to show another build in crude inventories, but likely drawdowns in gasoline and distillates including heating oil.

Crude for May delivery was last up 21 cents at USD66.44 a barrel in electronic trade. The contract closed lower on Tuesday, with market expectations for higher inventories pulling prices further away from the two-month highs they reached in the previous session.

The Energy Department and the American Petroleum Institute will release separate reports on petroleum supplies Wednesday, covering the week ended March 31. Analysts at IFR Markets expect to see an increase of 1 million to 3 million barrels for crude supplies, while Fimat analysts predict a rise of 260,000 barrels.

An analyst survey conducted by Platts calls for an increase of 1 million, on average. Inventories of crude stood at nearly 341 million barrels for the week ended March 24, their highest level since April 1999, the Energy Department reported last week. But the market may be more closely focused on supplies of gasoline as the summer driving season approaches.

Gasoline supplies fell an unexpected 5.4 million barrels last week, partly due to the phasing out of an additive called methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE, by a May 5 deadline. The drawdown was the biggest in more than two-and-a-half years and sent gasoline futures to a two-month high.