US commercial crude oil inventories rose by 0.6% in the week ending Aug. 29, defying market expectations of a decline, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said late Thursday.
Stocks increased by 2.4 million barrels to 420.7 million, compared to forecasts for a 2 million-barrel draw.
Strategic petroleum reserves, excluded from commercial stocks, added 500,000 barrels to reach 404.7 million.
Over the same period, gasoline inventories decreased by approximately 3.8 million barrels to 218.5 million barrels.
- Crude production falls
EIA data showed that US crude oil production decreased by 16,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 13.42 million bpd during the week ending Aug. 29.
US crude oil imports fell by 508,000 bpd to approximately 6.74 million bpd, while exports rose by 74,000 bpd to around 3.88 million bpd over the same period.
In the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on August 12, the EIA projected that crude oil output in the country would average 13.41 million bpd in 2025.
By Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr