US commercial crude oil inventories increased by 3.8% during the week ending Feb. 20, according to data released by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) late Wednesday.
Inventories rose by about 16 million barrels to 435.8 million barrels. Market expectations had pointed to an increase of about 1.8 million barrels.
Strategic petroleum reserves, which are excluded from commercial crude stocks, remained unchanged at 415.4 million barrels, the data revealed.
Over the same period, gasoline inventories decreased by around 1 million barrels to 254.8 million barrels.
- Crude production declines
EIA data showed that US crude oil production fell by 33,000 barrels per day (bpd) to about 13.70 million bpd during the week ending Feb. 20.
US crude oil imports rose by 136,000 bpd to approximately 6.6 million bpd, while exports decreased by around 277,000 bpd to around 4.31 million bpd over the same period.
In the Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO) released on Feb. 10, the EIA predicted that crude oil output in the country would reach an average of 13.6 million bpd in 2026.
By Handan Kazanci
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr