U.S. oil inventories jumped 10.2 million barrels last week

According to the EIA, US oil inventories increased by 10.23 million barrels over the week. (forecast: -3.6 million barrels), up to 424.129 million barrels. Overnight statistics from the American Petroleum Institute (API) indicated a weekly increase in inventories of 7.82 million barrels.

• Gasoline inventories increased by 4.5 million barrels. (forecast: +2.71 million barrels), up to 223.583 million barrels.
• Distillate inventories increased by 1.36 million barrels. (forecast: +2.52 million barrels), up to 120.171 million barrels.
• US oil production fell by 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 12.1 million bpd.

The data turned out to be negative: the growth of oil inventories was higher than in the API report, despite the fact that a decrease was expected. Gasoline inventories have risen rapidly for the fifth week in a row, reflecting a drop in demand for fuel. True, production has declined, but by a minimal amount. Oil prices reacted to the statistics with a sharp drawdown, but it was quickly bought out, after which the quotes returned to the recent weekly highs.