Unexpected Increase in U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Impacts Prices

Crude oil inventories in the United States experienced an unexpected rise this week, increasing by 483,000 barrels for the week ending January 12, as reported by The American Petroleum Institute (API). Analysts had predicted a draw of 2.4 million barrels, contrasting with the API’s previous report of a 5.215-million-barrel draw in crude inventories the week before.

On Tuesday, the Department of Energy (DoE) disclosed that crude oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) also increased by 0.6 million barrels this week, reaching a total of 355.6 million barrels.

Ahead of the API data release, oil prices exhibited a mixed trend. At 4:20 pm ET, Brent crude recorded a 0.26% decrease, trading at $78.09—still reflecting a $0.67 per barrel increase compared to the previous week. The U.S. benchmark WTI, on the other hand, showed a 0.59% increase, trading at $72.83, with a $0.76 per barrel gain from the previous week.

Gasoline inventories observed another substantial build this week, rising by 4.86 million barrels following a 4.896 million barrel increase in the previous week. According to EIA data, gasoline inventories are now approximately 1% above the five-year average for this time of year.

Distillate inventories also reported a rise this week, increasing by 5.21 million barrels after a 6.873 million barrel rise in the previous week. However, distillates remain roughly 4% below the five-year average.

In contrast, Cushing inventories experienced a decline of 1.98 million barrels after falling by 625,000 barrels in the previous week.

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