Crude oil stockpiles in the United States increased by 3.6 million barrels in the week ending February 28, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Oil prices were already declining before the EIA’s report, despite data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday indicating a 1.455 million-barrel drop in U.S. crude inventories. The primary factor driving the market downturn was OPEC+’s decision to start easing production cuts in April.
By 9:47 a.m. ET, Brent crude had fallen 2.13% to $69.53, marking its third consecutive day of losses. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude dropped 2.64%, trading at $66.46.
Gasoline and Distillate Inventories Decline
The EIA reported a 1.4 million-barrel decrease in total motor gasoline inventories for the week, with daily production averaging 9.6 million barrels. In contrast, the previous week saw a 400,000-barrel inventory increase and an average production of 9.2 million barrels per day.
Middle distillate inventories also declined, falling by 1.3 million barrels. Production remained steady at 5.2 million barrels per day. This follows the prior week’s 3.9 million-barrel inventory build at the same production rate. Distillate stockpiles are now 6% below the five-year seasonal average.
Product Demand Trends
Over the past four weeks, total petroleum product supply averaged 20.2 million barrels per day, reflecting a 3.4% increase from the same period last year. Distillate product supply rose by 7.1%, while gasoline product supply declined by 0.9% year over year.
Related Topics:
- Oil Prices Begin the Week with an Increase Following Positive Data from China
- Kazakhstan’s Oil Production Reaches Record High of 2.1 Million bpd
- Power Producers Fear Financial Strain and Outages from Fuel Import Cuts