U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Jump Much More Than Expected

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed U.S. crude oil inventories surged by much more than expected in the week ended April 5th.

The EIA said crude oil inventories shot up by 5.8 million barrels last week after jumping by 3.2 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to increase by 2.4 million barrels.

At 457.3 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are still about 2 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.

The report also said gasoline inventories inched up by 0.7 million barrels last week but remain about 3 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also increased by 1.7 million barrels last week but remain about 5 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.