Off the wire
• Lula da Silva accepts to be presidential candidate despite prison sentence  • Colombian gov't, rebels to seek new ceasefire accord  • Hollywood actor criticizes U.S. gov't for pulling out of Paris climate agreement  • 2nd LD-Writethru: Syria vows military response to possible Turkish military campaign  • 1st LD: Syria vows military response to possible Turkish military campaign  • Urgent: Syria vows military response to possible Turkish military campaign  • Lula da Silva accepts to be presidential candidate despite prison sentence  • Colombian gov't, rebels to seek new ceasefire accord  • Hollywood actor criticizes U.S. gov't for pulling out of Paris climate agreement  • 2nd LD-Writethru: Syria vows military response to possible Turkish military campaign  
You are here: 　

U.S. oil inventories increase, prices slightly recover

Xinhua,February 15, 2018 Adjust font size:

HOUSTON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. crude oil inventories increased last week ending Feb. 9, but the refining sector input 635,000 barrels per day less than the previous week's average, according to a report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.

According to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report by the EIA, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, of the week ending Feb. 9, increased by 1.8 million barrels from the previous week.

At 422.1 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are in the lower of the average range for this time of year.

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged over 20.7 million barrels per day, up by 6.9 percent from the same period last year.

Over the last four weeks, motor gasoline product supplied averaged 9.0 million barrels per day, up by 6.5 percent from the same period last year.

Distillate fuel product supplied averaged over 4 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, up by 6.3 percent from the same period last year. Jet fuel product supplied is down 0.6 percent compared to the same four-week period last year.

Oil prices recovered slightly following the small crude oil inventories build was announced Wednesday morning.

The price for West Texas Intermediate (WTI), the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, increased 0.37 percent to 59.41 U.S. dollars a barrel, and the Brent benchmark increased 0.64 percent to 63.12 dollars a barrel, about 7 dollars lower than the peak prices for both set at the end of last year.

Last week, the EIA forecast Brent spot prices would average about 62 U.S. dollars a barrel in both 2018 and 2019, compared with an average of 54 dollars a barrel in 2017.

It also expected the WTI crude oil prices to average 4 dollars lower than Brent prices in both 2018 and 2019.

The agency also said that U.S. crude oil production was expected to be 10.6 million and 11.2 million barrels per day in 2018 and 2019 respectively, marking the highest annual average level in the country.

The previous record of 9.6 million barrels per day in the United States was set in 1970. Enditem

 

Related News & Photos