Crude oil inventories in the United States experienced a slight increase this week, rising by 347,000 barrels for the week ending August 16, according to The American Petroleum Institute (API). This came as a surprise since analysts had expected a decrease of 2.9 million barrels.
The API had previously reported a reduction of 5.205 million barrels in crude inventories for the week before. Year-to-date, crude oil inventories are nearly the same as they were at the beginning of the year, with a total increase of 760,000 barrels, based on API data.
On Monday, the Department of Energy (DoE) also reported an increase in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) by 0.7 million barrels as of August 16. The reserve now holds 377.2 million barrels.
Oil prices saw an uptick on Tuesday ahead of the API data release. As of 10:25 am ET, Brent crude was up by $0.58 (+0.75%) at $78.24 per barrel. However, it remains down by more than $2.40 compared to the previous week. The U.S. benchmark, WTI, also saw a rise of $0.63 (+0.85%) to $75.00 per barrel, though it is down over $3 per barrel from last week.
Gasoline inventories fell by 1.043 million barrels this week, adding to last week’s decrease of 3.689 million barrels. Analysts had forecasted a draw of 400,000 barrels. Gasoline inventories are now 3% below the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest EIA data.
Distillate inventories decreased by 2.247 million barrels this week, reversing last week’s increase of 612,000 barrels. Analysts had expected a build of 200,000 barrels. Distillates are approximately 7% below the five-year average for the week ending August 9, as reported by the EIA.
Cushing inventories fell by 648,000 barrels, according to API data, following a 2.277 million-barrel draw the previous week.