US Crude Inventories Rise More Than Expected

US crude oil inventories rose by 4.2 million barrels in the week ending August 21st, well above market expectations for a 1.9 million-barrel increase and reversing a 328,000-barrel decline in the previous week. Commercial crude inventories excluding the SPR have declined by just over 45 million barrels over the past 19 weeks, while inventories are up 5.8 million barrels year-to-date. Another 3.7 million barrels left the SPR, bringing total reserves to 289.7 million barrels, near the generally accepted operational minimum of 250-300 million barrels. Cushing inventories increased by 1 million barrels after falling by 1.44 million barrels in the previous week. Meanwhile, US crude production rose to 13.83 million bpd from 13.805 million bpd, up 503,000 bpd from a year earlier. Gasoline inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels, while distillate stocks declined by 500,000 barrels.

US crude oil inventories fell by just 328,000 barrels in the week ending August 14th, following a 9.07 million-barrel increase in the previous week. Still, this marked the first decline in five weeks. Commercial crude inventories excluding the SPR have declined by just over 49 million barrels over the past 18 weeks, while inventories are up 1.88 million barrels year-to-date. Another 5.3 million barrels left the SPR, bringing total reserves to 293.4 million barrels, near the generally accepted operational minimum of 250-300 million barrels. Cushing inventories fell by 1.44 million barrels after rising 1.57 million barrels in the previous week. Meanwhile, US crude production edged up to 13.805 million bpd from 13.804 million bpd, up 521,000 bpd from a year earlier. Gasoline inventories increased by 1.08 million barrels, while distillate stocks fell by 2.80 million barrels, extending their decline to 3.39 million barrels over the past two weeks.

US crude oil inventories rose by 9.07 million barrels in the week ending August 7th, far exceeding expectations for a 500,000-barrel draw and following a 2.69 million-barrel increase in the previous week. The larger-than-expected build was driven partly by higher crude imports relative to exports. Despite the latest increase, commercial crude inventories excluding the SPR have declined by just over 49 million barrels over the past 17 weeks, while inventories are up 1.88 million barrels year-to-date. Another 6.1 million barrels left the SPR, bringing total reserves to 298.7 million barrels, near the generally accepted operational minimum of 250-300 million barrels. Cushing inventories increased by 1.57 million barrels after rising 2.36 million barrels in the previous week. Meanwhile, US crude production rose to 13.804 million bpd from 13.796 million bpd, up 600,000 bpd from a year earlier.