Crude oil inventories jumped 9.94 million barrels the end of last week, more than expected, according to estimates from the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday. Gasoline stocks rose 720,000 barrels and distillate stocks increased by 1.5 million barrels.
Supplies at the Cushing oil hub fell by 1.3 million barrels.
Official data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due on Wednesday. A poll of analyst sees crude oil inventories up 3.175 million barrels, while distillates and gasoline supplies were each seen down by 1.15 million barrels.
Last week, crude oil inventories in the U.S. jumped by 13.8 million barrels, the EIA said, a surprise above the expected 2.8 million barrels gain. Also last week, API reported a 14.23 million barrels build in crude stocks.
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As I mentioned in my weekly podcast, it take months for production from OPEC to show up in U.S. inventories. Plus, this is the time of year that inventories always build. Refiners are wise to build inventory if they think supplies are going down and/or the price is going up.
API reports big build in oil inventories
API reports big build in oil inventories
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group