Investing.com - U.S. crude oil inventories rose much more than expected last week, the Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report on Wednesday.
Crude oil inventories rose by 7.975 million barrels in the week to Sept. 28, the EIA said. That was compared to forecasts for a stockpile build of 1.98 million barrels after a build of 1.85 million barrels in the previous week.
Oil prices fell slightly after the news. London traded Brent oil futures were down 0.21% to $84.63 a barrel by 10:38 ET (14:38 GMT) from their last close, but still remained near a four-year high. Crude oil WTI futures dipped 0.49% to $74.86, hovering near Tuesday’s four-year peak of $75.91.
Supplies at Cushing, Okla., the key delivery point for Nymex crude, increased by 1.699 barrels last week, the EIA said.
Oil prices have rallied to 4-year highs this week amid expectations for tighter markets from next month as the U.S. prepares to re-impose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program.
Iran is the world’s fourth-largest oil producer and the third-largest exporter in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Energy analysts fear that OPEC and other major non-OPEC producers, including Russia, have little spare capacity to boost output in order to offset a looming supply crunch and some now think $100 a barrel for Brent might be possible by the year end or in early 2019.
While global markets are tightening, increased domestic output means that U.S. supply remains plentiful.
The EIA report also showed that gasoline inventories fell by 459,000 barrels, compared to expectations for a build of 1.316 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell by by 1.750 million barrels, compared to forecasts for a decrease of 1.3 million.
The stockpile data came after industry group the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday that U.S. crude oil stocks rose by 907,000 barrels last week, slightly lower than the 1.5 million barrel build some analysts were expecting.