Crude oil inventories in the United States increased by 1.4 million barrels during the week ending March 7, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.
Before the report’s release, crude oil prices were already rising, rebounding from earlier losses in the week. The price increase came despite data from the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday, which reported a larger-than-expected crude build of 4.247 million barrels alongside strong product draws.
As of 10:20 a.m. ET on Wednesday, the Brent crude benchmark was up 1.32%, trading at $70.48 per barrel—$1 higher than last week. The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark had gained 1.55%, reaching $67.28 per barrel, nearly $1 above last week’s price.
Gasoline inventories saw a significant decline, dropping by 5.7 million barrels for the week ending March 7. Production remained steady at 9.6 million barrels per day. This drop follows a smaller decrease of 1.4 million barrels in the previous week, with production levels unchanged.
Distillate stocks also fell, with a decrease of 1.6 million barrels. Daily production averaged 4.5 million barrels, down from 5.2 million barrels the previous week when inventories dropped by 1.3 million barrels. The decline aligns with seasonal trends, with stock levels now 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Total product supply over the past four weeks averaged 20.7 million barrels per day, reflecting a 3.9% increase compared to the same period last year. Distillate product supply surged 9.5% year-over-year, while gasoline product supply saw a slight increase of 0.1% over the same timeframe.
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