According to data released on Wednesday by the US Energy Information Administration, US crude oil stocks rose for the first time in seven weeks, while gasoline and distillate stocks fell amid increased demand. This was reported by The Wall Street Journal, according to UNN.
Details
It is noted that commercial oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 1.4 million barrels to 430.7 million barrels in the week ended August 9, and were about 5% below the five-year average for this time of year.
The increase in oil stocks came after six consecutive weeks of production. Analysts surveyed by the publication had predicted that oil stocks would fall by 1.2 million barrels.
Gasoline stocks are reported to have fallen by 2.9 million barrels to 222.2 million barrels, while distillate stocks are down by 1.7 million barrels to 126.1 million barrels. Refineries were operating at 91.5% of capacity, up from 90.5% the previous week.
Recall
In early August, oil fell in price due to a stock market sell-off caused by fears of a US recession. The decline is limited due to the loss of supplies from Libya and the risk of escalation in the Middle East.