The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a significant rise in U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending January 24, with a gain of 5.025 million barrels. Analysts had expected a smaller increase of 3.17 million barrels.
The previous week, the API reported a more modest 2.86 million-barrel increase in crude oil inventories. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories had seen consistent gains over the past few weeks.
According to API data, U.S. crude oil inventories dropped by more than 12 million barrels in 2024, continuing a downward trend that has extended into the new year. Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) also noted a slight rise of 0.3 million barrels in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as of January 31. However, the SPR still holds nearly 240 million barrels less than before the withdrawals began under the Biden administration, with current levels at 395.1 million barrels.
As of 3:21 pm ET, Brent crude was up by $0.04 (+0.05%) at $76 per barrel, a decrease of nearly $1.50 compared to the previous week. Meanwhile, the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell by $0.59 (-0.81%) to $72.57 per barrel, roughly $1 lower than last week’s price.
In addition to the crude oil increases, gasoline inventories rose by 5.426 million barrels, building on a 1.89-million-barrel gain from the previous week. However, according to the latest data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), gasoline inventories remain slightly below the five-year average for this time of year.
Distillate inventories, on the other hand, experienced a significant drop, falling by 6.979 million barrels in the latest week, marking the second large decline in a row. The previous week saw a reduction of 3.75 million barrels. Distillate inventories are now roughly 9% below the five-year average as of January 24, based on the latest EIA data.
At the key delivery point for U.S. crude futures, Cushing, Oklahoma, inventories rose by 110,000 barrels. This followed a 144,000-barrel decrease in the previous week, according to API data.
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