Crude oil inventories in the United States saw an increase of 2.0 million barrels during the week ending July 17, according to new data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released on Wednesday. The increase brings commercial stockpiles to 411.7 million barrels, which are now 6% below the five-year average for this time of year.
The EIA’s data release follows API’s figures that were released a day earlier, which reported that crude oil inventories had risen by 2.603 million barrels in the period.
Crude futures were trading up in morning trade with a deal between Iran and the US that would restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz being as elusive as ever.
For total motor gasoline, the EIA reported that inventories had increased by 800,000 barrels, compared to the week prior’s 1.5 million barrel draw. The most recent figures showed that average daily gasoline production increased to 9.7 million barrels.
For middle distillates, inventories increased by 1.4 million barrels with production increasing to an average of 5.3 million barrels daily.
Total products supplied—a proxy for U.S. oil demand—averaged 20.4 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, down 1% compared to the same period last year.
