The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending March 21. Stocks fell by 4.6 million barrels, surpassing analysts’ forecast of a 2.5 million-barrel decline.
So far in 2025, crude inventories have increased by more than 16 million barrels, based on API data analyzed by Oilprice. Meanwhile, the Department of Energy (DoE) also announced that crude oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) rose by 0.2 million barrels to 396.1 million barrels for the same week. However, SPR levels remain far below the pre-withdrawal levels seen before the Biden administration’s decision to release reserves.
At 4:12 pm ET, Brent crude rose by $0.15 (+0.21%) to $73.15, marking an increase of nearly $2.50 per barrel from last week. U.S. benchmark WTI gained $0.06 (+0.09%) to reach $69.17, up $1.60 from the previous week.
Gasoline inventories also saw a decline, dropping by 3.3 million barrels during the week ending March 21, following a 1.7 million-barrel reduction the week before. However, gasoline stocks remain 2% above the five-year average for this time of year, according to the latest data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Distillate inventories also fell by 1.3 million barrels in the same period, following a larger 2.146 million-barrel drop the previous week. As of March 14, the most recent EIA data shows distillate inventories were already about 6% below the five-year average.
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