Oil idled in the $101 range Wednesday at mid-day after the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced that weekly crude oil inventories surged higher.

Oil gained 12 cents to $101.10 per barrel, off highs earlier in the session, after the EIA said weekly crude oil inventories increased 7.4 million barrels for the week ending March 28, 2008.

Crude oil inventories totaled 319.2 million barrels. Gasoline inventories declined 4.5 million barrels. Distillate stocks fell 1.6 million barrels.

Historically, oil inventories increase as the spring quarter approaches, the lowest oil use quarter in the United States.

Energy commodities mixed

The other major energy commodities were mixed on the news in early trading Wednesday. Heating oil fell about 1 cent to $2.98 per gallon, unleaded gasoline added 2 cents to $2.65 per gallon, and natural gas declined about 28 cents to $9.44 per million BTUs.

Oil fell briefly below $100 early Tuesday as traders anticipated a likely continued rise in weekly oil inventories and gasoline supplies.

Oil fell $1.68 to $99.90 per barrel after traders calculated that the U.S. Energy Information Administration's weekly Wednesday data will show at least a modest rise in oil inventories, for the seventh week in the past two months. It recovered and is trading at $101.80 as of noon.

Inventories in the United States are rising, which is bearish for oil prices, and good news for U.S. consumers, who have had to deal with record oil and gasoline prices over the past six months. Jim Dietz, independent energy trader, said last week's attack on an Iraqi oil pipe and no gain in weekly U.S. inventories created a temporary $7 spike in oil, and he now expects oil to resume a downward path, given the aforementioned bearish fundamentals. Dietz added he is currently short oil with monthly contracts.

Oil surged $3.36 to $104.58 Wednesday morning after the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced that weekly crude oil inventories remained unchanged and gasoline supplies declined.

Crude oil inventories were unchanged in the latest week, at 311.8 million, the EIA said. Gasoline inventories declined 3.3 million barrels. Distillate stocks fell 2.2 million barrels.

Historically, oil inventories increase as the spring quarter approaches; spring is the lowest oil use quarter in the United States.

Crude oil was virtually unchanged at $98.02 Wednesday at midday, as traders took a wait-and-see approach following a 1.07-million-barrel drop in weekly crude inventories for the week ending November 16 .

Analysts had expected an 800,000-barrel inventory gain, hence Wednesday's draw down struck some traders as an anomaly, perhaps attributable to thinner trading conditions ahead of the [U.S.] Thanksgiving Day holiday.

Earlier, crude oil had reached a record $99.29 per barrel in electronic trading.

Heating oil gained about 2 cents to $2.70 and unleaded gasoline rose about 1 cent to $2.45. Natural gas dropped 0.007 to $7.470 per million BTUs.

Oil Analysis: Fundamental and technical indicators continue to favor an oil price move toward and beyond $100 per barrel, although Wednesday's thin trading conditions will make it harder to clear the $100 hurdle today, than in a normal trading volume session. Further, traders underscored that no factors have appeared that suggest the oil-higher trend is set to end.