New York: The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported today that US crude oil inventories increased last week.
In its weekly report, the EIA, the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, said crude oil inventories rose by 2.5 million barrels to 407.0 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a 1.5 million-barrel decline.
The agency said total US crude oil inventories, including commercial stocks and the government's Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell to 711.8 million barrels, the lowest level since March 1984.
It added that crude inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub increased by 2.4 million barrels during the week to 20.96 million barrels, moving back above the estimated minimum operating level of about 20 million barrels.
The EIA also said refinery crude oil inputs fell by 183,000 barrels per day, while refinery utilization rates declined by 0.7 percentage points to 96.5% during the week. Imports rose by about 515,000 barrels per day to 6.2 million barrels per day.
The agency added that net US crude oil imports increased by 297,000 barrels per day last week.
