Story
US Crude Inventories Rise Unexpectedly While Fuel Stocks Decline
Summary
U.S. crude oil stockpiles increased by 3 million barrels last week, contrary to analyst predictions for a decrease, according to a report from the Energy Information Administration. Meanwhile, inventories of gasoline and distillates both fell.
U.S. crude oil inventories saw a surprise increase of 3 million barrels for the week ending July 3, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported on Wednesday. The build brought total commercial crude stockpiles to 411.4 million barrels, defying analyst expectations for a 2.4 million-barrel draw.
In contrast, inventories of refined products declined. Gasoline stocks fell by 1.9 million barrels to 212.1 million barrels, a slightly larger drop than the 1.6 million-barrel decrease analysts had forecast. Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, experienced a significant drop of 5 million barrels, landing at 103.6 million barrels. This was in stark contrast to predictions of a 0.6 million-barrel increase.
The data also indicated a slowdown in refinery operations during the period. Refinery crude runs fell by 172,000 barrels per day, and overall refinery utilization rates decreased by 0.8 percentage points.
AdAt the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub, a key benchmark for U.S. crude futures, inventories saw a minor decrease of 52,000 barrels last week.