Rise in U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced that crude oil and gasoline inventories in the United States rose, while distillate inventories fell, during the previous week. In its weekly report, which receives wide attention in the market, the EIA stated that crude oil inventories increased by 4.4 million barrels to reach 428.8 million barrels in the week ending August 14. The administration added that crude oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma distribution hub declined by 1.3 million barrels during the week. It further noted that crude oil refining operations increased by 216,000 barrels per day, while utilization rates rose by 1 percent over the week. The EIA announced that U.S. gasoline inventories increased by 0.7 million barrels during the week to reach 209.4 million barrels. Meanwhile, distillate inventories, which include diesel fuel and heating oil, fell by 1.5 million barrels during the week to reach 105.6 million barrels. The EIA also reported that U.S. net crude oil imports decreased by 1.75 million barrels per day.