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U.S. crude oil inventories rose more than expected last week, The Wall Street Journal reports, while gasoline stocks fell less than anticipated. That’s according to the latest figures released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve rose by 1.7 million barrels to 437 million barrels in the week ended March 14 and were about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA says.
Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal were predicting crude stockpiles would increase by 500,000 barrels. Oil stored in the SPR rose by 275,000 barrels to 395.9 million. Oil stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma., the Nymex delivery hub, fell by 1 million barrels to 23.5 million.
The EIA estimates U.S. crude oil production was close to 13.6 million barrels a day, which is virtually unchanged from the previous week. Crude imports fell by 85,000 barrels a day to 5.4 million a day and exports increased by 1.4 million barrels a day to 4.6 million a day.
Refinery capacity use rose by 0.4 of a percentage point to 86.9%, compared with expectations for a 0.1 percentage point increase in the survey.
