Equipment used to process carbon dioxide, crude oil and water is seen at an Occidental Petroleum Corp enhanced oil recovery project in Hobbs
Equipment used to process carbon dioxide, crude oil and water is seen at an Occidental Petroleum Corp enhanced oil recovery project in Hobbs, New Mexico, U.S. on May 3, 2017. Picture taken on May 3, 2017. (Photo: REUTERS/Ernest Scheyder )

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly inventory report on Wednesday, revealing unexpected significant increases in U.S. crude oil, gasoline, and refined oil stocks. Crude oil production reached its highest level since March 2020, and crude oil imports surged to levels not seen since August 2019.

Here are the specific inventory figures from the EIA for the week ending September 8:

  • Crude oil inventories rose by 3.955 million barrels, defying expectations of a 1.9937 million barrel drop. The previous week saw a decrease of 6.307 million barrels.
  • In the Cushing region, crude oil inventories declined by 2.45 million barrels, following a decrease of 1.75 million barrels the prior week. Over the past 11 weeks, 10 have recorded drops.
  • Gasoline stocks surged by 5.561 million barrels, marking the largest increase since July 2022. This was contrary to the anticipated decrease of 535,800 barrels, with the previous week recording a drop of 2.666 million barrels.
  • Refined oil inventories increased by 3.93 million barrels, surpassing the expected increase of 400,000 barrels.

Additionally, the EIA data highlighted that U.S. crude oil production reached 12.9 million barrels, a peak since March 2020. Crude oil imports hit their highest since August 2019, and other oil supplies surged to levels not seen since 1990.

Following the release of the EIA's weekly inventory report, WTI crude oil futures slightly rose by 0.15%, trading at $88.97, with a current fluctuation range of 70 cents.

The trends in the EIA's inventory report were largely in line with the report released by the American Petroleum Institute (API) on Tuesday. According to API data for the week ending September 8:

  • Crude oil inventories increased by 1.174 million barrels, against expectations of a 2 million barrel decrease. The previous week saw a decrease of 5.521 million barrels. In Cushing, crude oil inventories dropped by 2.417 million barrels, following a decrease of 1.353 million barrels the prior week.
  • Gasoline stocks rose by 4.21 million barrels, with the previous week recording a decrease of 5.09 million barrels.
  • Refined oil inventories increased by 2.592 million barrels, up from the previous week's increase of 310,000 barrels.