U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased last week, exceeding market expectations.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude oil inventories rose by 3 million barrels during the reporting week to 426.4 million barrels.
The increase came as a surprise to the market, which had expected crude inventories to decline by around 700,000 barrels.
Meanwhile, U.S. strategic crude oil reserves, which are not included in commercial inventories, decreased by 400,000 barrels to 284.6 million barrels.
The country’s gasoline inventories also declined during the reporting week, falling by 1.7 million barrels to 206 million barrels.
The latest inventory figures provide an indication of developments in U.S. oil and fuel stockpiles and are closely watched by market participants when assessing conditions in the world’s largest oil-consuming economy.