LONDON (ShareCast) - Oil prices closed higher after a volatile session which saw crude hit a high of $117 a barrel then tumble below $114 after weekly government supply data showed a bigger than expected increase in crude inventories.

Crude for September delivery finally settled 45 cents higher at $114.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The September contract expired Wednesday, which usually creates price volatility.

The Energy Department's weekly data on supplies was mixed. Crude supplies rose by 9.4m barrels to 305.9m. Analysts had predicted a rise of around 1.7m barrels.

Gasoline inventories fell by 6.2m barrels, bigger than the 3m barrel decline predicted by analysts. Distillate fuel supplies rose less than expected by 500,000 barrels last week.

Among precious metals gold for December fell by 50 cents to close at $816.30 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the session gold reached a low of $806.80 as the dollar firmed and oil prices zigzagged.

September silver fell 6.5 cents at $13.04 an ounce while palladium for September dropped $5.30 to close at $278.55 an ounce.

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