Oil Inventory Reports Show Rise in Crude Stocks

Reports by the U.S. Department of Energy and the American Petroleum Institute both showed increases in the amount of crude oil the U.S. had on hand, but both groups said the country’s supplies of diesel and gasoline fell in the past week.

DOE said in its report that the U.S. had 309.3 million barrels of oil for the week ended March 18, an increase of 4.1 million barrels. API reported that the U.S. crude reserves topped 314.7 million barrels after an increase of 8.8 million battles in the week ended March 18.

Supplies of distillate, or diesel, fuel fell during the week both reports said. DOE placed the country’s distillate reserves at 104.5 million, down 2.8 million barrels from the previous week. API said the decline was 4.7 million barrels to a total of 106.6 million.

Gasoline stocks also declined in both reports, as DOE reported a 4.1 million-barrel decline to 217.3 million and API said inventories fell 4.7 million barrels to 214.3 million.

Analyst had said crude oil prices could continue a two-day decline if the report reflected increases in U.S. inventories. It was the sixth straight week of increase for U.S. oil reserves.