US crude oil stocks rose over the past week, according to US government and private surveys released today. The figures offered some reassurance to financial markets after a surprisingly steep drop a week ago.
The Department of Energy (DoE) said crude oil reserves increased by 1.4 million barrels to 333.8 million in the week ending May 27. That followed a surprising drop of 1.6 million the previous week.
The American Petroleum Institute said its survey showed an increase of 1.32 million barrels to 334.85 million after an increase of 2.28 million barrels the prior week.
But crude oil futures remained on an upward trend and jumped 60 cents to $55.20 a barrel in New York after a 5% spike on Wednesday.
The report on petrol and distillates, used for heating oil and diesel fuel, were mixed. The DoE showed petrol reserves up 1.3 million barrels to 216.7 million but the API reported a drop of 1.45 million barrels to 211.66 million. For distillates, the DoE reported a rise of 700,000 barrels to 106.4 million, weaker than expected by markets. The API report showed a rise of 770,000 barrels to 105.34 million.
