COM - Energy tops S&P leaderboard as U.S. crude supply gain smallest in five weeks

Energy ( NYSEARCA: XLE ) led the S&P's 11 sector groups Wednesday, recouping the previous session's entire loss, as crude oil prices closed higher in a volatile session with traders sorting out the latest report on U.S. oil supplies and economic data from China.

The Energy Information Administration reported a 10th straight weekly rise in U.S. crude supplies, but the increase was the smallest since the week ended January 20.

U.S. commercial inventories rose by 1.2M barrels last week , which largely met expectations, but gasoline stockpiles unexpectedly declined.

The EIA also noted crude exports of 5.6M bbl/day for the week, which appears to be a record high on a gross basis .

Meanwhile, China's official manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 52.6 in February, the highest reading since April 2012 and up from 50.1 in January.

Front-month Nymex crude oil ( CL1:COM ) for April delivery settled +0.8% to $77.69/bbl, and May Brent crude ( CO1:COM ) closed +1% at $84.31/bbl.

ETFs: ( NYSEARCA: USO ), ( BNO ), ( UCO ), ( SCO ), ( DBL ), ( USL )

U.S. natural gas futures rose for the sixth straight session, testing five-week highs, with natgas for April delivery ( NG1:COM ) ending +2.3% to $2.811/MMBtu.

Seven of the top 15 gainers in the S&P 500 were in the oil and gas sector: Valero Energy ( VLO ) +5.7% , Phillips 66 ( PSX ) +4.5% , Marathon Petroleum ( MPC ) +4.5% , EOG Resources ( EOG ) +4.4% , Halliburton ( HAL ) +3.5% , APA Corp. ( APA ) +3.2% , Schlumberger ( SLB ) +3.1% .

Energy was February's worst performer of all 11 sectors in the S&P 500, while U.S. crude oil prices posted a fourth consecutive monthly decline .

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