EIA Reports Ongoing Increase in Crude Oil Stockpiles

U.S. Crude Oil Stockpiles Rise

According to the latest report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), crude oil reserves in the United States grew by 3.4 million barrels for the week ending January 14. This increase brings the nation’s commercial oil stocks to 422.4 million barrels, which is approximately 3% lower than the average level for this period over the past five years.

The EIA’s announcement comes after the American Petroleum Institute (API) released its own data a day earlier, indicating a larger build of 5.27 million barrels in crude inventories.

Oil Prices Edge Higher Amid Supply Concerns

Oil prices continued their upward momentum on Wednesday morning, following notable gains on Tuesday. This rally is being driven by several factors, including fears of potential supply interruptions in Iran due to ongoing protests. As of 7:42 a.m. in New York, Brent crude was trading at $65.88 per barrel, an increase of $0.41 (0.63%) for the day and more than $5.25 higher compared to the previous week. WTI crude also saw gains, rising $0.32 per barrel (0.52%) in early trading.

Gasoline and Distillate Inventory Updates

The EIA also reported a 9 million barrel increase in total motor gasoline inventories. Average daily gasoline production climbed to 9.0 million barrels. Meanwhile, middle distillate stocks experienced a slight decline, with daily production dropping by 18,000 barrels to an average of 5.3 million barrels per day.

U.S. Oil Demand Trends

Over the past four weeks, the total supply of petroleum products—a key indicator of U.S. oil consumption—averaged 20 million barrels per day, marking a 1.1% decrease compared to the same timeframe last year. Gasoline demand averaged 8.5 million barrels per day, while the four-week average for distillate fuel supplied reached 3.7 million barrels per day, representing a 2.2% year-over-year increase.

By Julianne Geiger, Oilprice.com