U.S. crude oil inventories saw a significant increase of 6.2 million barrels during the week ending March 28, according to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.
Before the EIA’s data release, crude oil prices were already on the rise, following a report from the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday. The API indicated a 6.037 million barrel increase in U.S. crude oil inventories, along with a small decline in gasoline stocks. At 10:28 a.m. ET, the Brent benchmark was trading up 0.01% at $74.50 per barrel, marking an increase of about $1 compared to the same time last week. Meanwhile, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) benchmark rose 0.18% to $71.33 per barrel, about $1.60 higher than last week’s price.
In terms of motor gasoline, the EIA reported a 1.6 million barrel decrease in inventories for the week ending March 28. Gasoline production increased to an average of 9.3 million barrels per day, compared to 9.2 million barrels per day the week before. This follows a 1.4 million barrel drop in gasoline inventories the previous week.
For middle distillates, the EIA recorded a 300,000 barrel increase, with production rising to an average of 4.7 million barrels daily. In the previous week, distillate inventories fell by 400,000 barrels, with production averaging 4.5 million barrels per day. Currently, distillate inventories are 6% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Total products supplied over the past four weeks decreased by 1.2% compared to the same period last year, averaging 20.1 million barrels per day. This marks the second consecutive week of decline. Distillate product supplies were up 3.7% year-over-year, while gasoline supplies were down by 1.9%.
Related Topics:
- USA EIA Predicts WTI Oil Prices Will Fall in 2025 and 2026
- Oil Prices Fall as EIA Reports Rising Crude Inventories
- USA EIA Unveils Updated Brent Oil Price Predictions