U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Increase More Than Expected

(RTTNews) - After reporting a substantial increase in U.S. crude oil inventories in the previous week, the Energy Information Administration released a report on Wednesday showing crude oil inventories saw further upside in the week ended February 27th.

The EIA said crude oil inventories climbed by 3.5 million barrels last week after surging by 16.0 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to rise by 2.2 million barrels.

At 439.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are still about 3 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.

The report said distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also inched up by 0.4 million barrels last week but remain about 3 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Meanwhile, the EIA said gasoline inventories decreased by 1.7 million barrels last week but are still 4 percent above the five-year average for this time of year.