The American Petroleum Institute (API) has reported that U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 4.287 million barrels for the week ending May 9. This unexpectedly contrasts with analysts’ predictions of a 2.4 million barrel reduction. Just last week, the API noted a decline of 4.49 million barrels in inventory.
Overall, crude oil stock levels have surged by more than 23 million barrels, according to API calculations related to oil pricing.
Earlier this week, the Department of Energy (DOE) indicated that crude oil stocks in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) climbed to 500,000 barrels, totaling 399.6 million barrels as of May 9. These levels are significantly lower than the hundreds of millions seen before the Biden administration began withdrawing from the SPR.
At 3:35 PM ET, Brent crude was up $1.65 (+2.54%), reaching $66.61, marking a $4.50 rebound since last week. Meanwhile, WTI was trading at $63.74, up $1.79 (+2.89%), which represents an increase of $3.70 compared to last week’s figures.
Gasoline stocks decreased to 1,374 million barrels for the week ending May 9, following a drop of 1.97 million barrels the previous week. Currently, gasoline inventories are about 3% lower than the five-year average for this period, according to the latest EIA data.
Distillation stocks also fell by 3.675 million barrels this week. Interestingly, there was an increase of 2.24 million barrels in distilled stocks the previous week. EIA data reveals that the average for the five years leading up to May 2 is approximately 13% below the typical level for distilled stocks.
In Cushing, Oklahoma, which serves as the main delivery point for U.S. crude futures, inventories have dipped by 850,000 barrels, adding to last week’s decline of 854,000 barrels.
