US crude oil inventories climbed by 9.0 million barrels in the week ended November 6, defying market expectations for a 1.0 million-barrel draw and reversing a 5.267 million-barrel decline in the prior week. This was the first increase in six weeks.
Gasoline inventories edged up by just 4,000 barrels, a sharp slowdown from the previous 1.427 million-barrel build, while distillate stocks rose by 1.5 million barrels after having fallen by 270,000 barrels a week earlier. At the Cushing delivery hub, inventories increased by 182,000 barrels, following a 511,000-barrel build in the prior week.
Separately, 2.7 million barrels of crude were released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to bolster commercial supplies, reducing total SPR holdings to 279.5 million barrels. US crude oil production reached a record 14.003 million barrels per day in the week ended October 30, up from 13.992 million barrels per day a week earlier.
