According to the government-run Energy Information Administration, or EIA, U.S. crude stockpiles increased by almost 19 million barrels last week, or 11 times more than the week before. This defied market expectations for a decline in inventories as refiners increased product supply, particularly for heating oil, in preparation for the winter.
According to the EIA’s Weekly Petroleum Supply Report for the week ending January 6, U.S. crude inventories increased by 18.962M million barrels. The statistical division of the U.S. Energy Department reported a crude build of 1.694M barrels in the week prior to December 30.
The American Petroleum Institute (API), an industry trade group, reported its own weekly inventory report on Tuesday, but the EIA’s reported crude build was even higher. The API reported a rise in crude stockpiles of 14.865 million barrels for the week ending January 6, up from 3.298 million barrels during the week ending December 30.
In terms of gasoline inventories, the EIA reported a rise of 4.114M barrels compared to expectations for a build of just 1.186M and against a decline of 346,000 barrels from the previous week.
In terms of distillate stockpiles, the EIA reported a decline of 1.069M barrels compared to a forecasted decline of 472,000 barrels and a decline of 1.427M barrels the previous week.