U.S. crude oil inventories increased by 95,000 barrels to 428.9 million barrels for the week ended August 21, the Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday. The rise fell short of analyst expectations, which had projected a 597,000-barrel gain.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub rose by 1.2 million barrels during the same period. Refinery activity showed a slight decline, with crude runs falling by 2,000 barrels per day, while utilization rates edged up by 0.2 percentage points to 97.4%.
Gasoline inventories dropped by 2.5 million barrels to 206.8 million barrels, exceeding the 0.7 million-barrel decline forecast by analysts. Distillate stockpiles, including diesel and heating oil, fell by 2.2 million barrels to 103.4 million barrels, outpacing the expected 1.6 million-barrel decrease.
