EIA Shows Crude Oil Inventories Still Rising

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has reported a significant rise in crude oil inventories in the United States, with an addition of 4.4 million barrels during the week ending on August 14. This data, released on Wednesday, brings the total commercial stockpiles to 428.8 million barrels, closely matching the five-year average for this period.

The EIA's data release followed a day earlier figures from the American Petroleum Institute (API), which indicated a drop of 328,000 barrels in crude oil inventories during the same week. At 10:01 a.m. in New York, crude futures were trading at $1001 per barrel, while Brent futures were at $91.41 per barrel, both showing a positive trend.

The weekly report also highlighted an increase in total motor gasoline inventories by 700,000 barrels, after a previous decline of 1.0 million barrels. The average daily gasoline production has been recorded at 9.7 million barrels. Meanwhile, middle distillates saw a decrease in inventories by 1.5 million barrels, with production averaging 5.2 million barrels daily, currently 13% below the five-year average.

Overall, total products supplied, a measure of U.S. oil demand, averaged 20.5 million barrels per day over the past four weeks, marking a 2.9% decrease compared to the same period last year. Gasoline demand averaged 8.9 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, while distillate demand supplied averaged 3.7 million barrels, a 0.8% decline year over year.