U.S. crude oil inventories experienced a significant increase of 7.1 million barrels for the week ending July 4, 2025. This followed a smaller build of 680,000 barrels in the previous week. It represented the most substantial rise in oil stockpiles since February and marked the second consecutive weekly increase, breaking a prior trend of five weeks of inventory depletion. This unexpected surge caught markets off-guard, as projections had anticipated a decrease of 2.8 million barrels.