In the week ending on March 29th, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) unexpectedly reported that there was a notable increase in the amount of crude oil held in storage in the United States. The EIA stated that crude oil inventories experienced a sharp rise of 3.2 million barrels, a figure that corresponds to the bump recorded in the previous week. This continued upward trend took economists by surprise, as they had predicted that crude oil inventories would decrease by 1.5 million barrels.
According to the EIA's data, crude oil inventories in the U.S. currently sit at 451.4 million barrels, a figure that's approximately 2 percent under the five-year average for this period of the year.
In contrast, the EIA's report indicated that gasoline inventories saw a decline, dropping by 4.3 million barrels in the last week. As a result, these inventories are now approximately 3 percent below the five-year average.
Distillate fuel inventories, which encompass heating oil and diesel, also experienced a decrease, falling by 1.3 million barrels. Following this decrease, these inventories are now about 7 percent below the five-year average for the current time of year.
