Investing.com -- Crude oil inventories spiked last week, according to the Energy Information Administration.
Oil stockpiles rose 5.65 million barrels for the week ending July 4, the government agency said Wednesday. Analysts followed by Investing.com had forecast a draw of 3.1 million barrels. Inventories fell 7.1 million barrels the previous week.
“The crude build of nearly 5.7 million barrels is more than a 180% reversal from the forecast draw of 3.1 million barrels. Yet, you have a near 5 million drop in gasoline stocks, a good part of which probably came from higher motor fuel processing by refiners prepping for 4th of July road travels," said Investing.com analyst Barani Krishnan. “It’s a question of what you want to focus — the shock of a crude build or just as impressive the draw on gasoline, and the price action suggests the market is having trouble deciding which way to go.”
Inventory at the Cushing, Oklahoma, storage facility rose 2.2 million barrels, more than the 1.5 million barrels forecast by analysts. Gasoline inventory fell 4.8 million barrels.
The weekly data comes after the American Petroleum Institute estimated a 2 million build last week.
“If anything, the report is a tad bearish from the distillates build that came in at 3 million barrels more than expected," Krishnan said. "That’s the sum effect, after considering the unchanged production at 11 million barrels per day, the 2 million-barrel build at Cushing and 60,000-barrel build on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve."