U.S. crude oil inventories surged last week as production jumped to a record high, while gasoline and distillate inventories fell, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed on Thursday. The main reason is that reduced refinery utilization and increased net imports have exacerbated the increase in crude oil inventories.
EIA data showed that U.S. crude oil inventories surged by 10.2 million barrels last week to 424.2 million barrels, much higher than analysts' expectations for an increase of 500,000 barrels. Oil prices pared gains in response.
EIA said U.S. gasoline inventories fell by 1.3 million barrels last week to 225.7 million barrels, while analysts expected a decrease of 800,000 barrels. Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.8 million barrels to 117 million barrels, compared with expectations for a decrease of 800,000 barrels.
Data also showed that U.S. crude oil production reached a record high of 13.2 million barrels per day last week.