EIA Reports Increase in US Crude Oil Inventories
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly oil inventory report, which shows a slight increase in commercial US crude oil inventories. According to the data, crude oil stocks rose by around 3 million barrels to 426.4 million barrels in the week ending September 18.
This comes as Brent crude's price has experienced downward pressure following the release of the report. Refineries operated at a rate of 94% of their operable capacity during the week, lower than last week's 96.8%. This decrease in refinery utilization may have contributed to the increase in crude oil inventories.
Gasoline stocks decreased by 1.7 million barrels over the week to about 206 million barrels, while distillate stocks moved 428,000 barrels lower to about 107.4 million barrels.