Overview
- Official EIA data show commercial crude inventories rose by 6.926 million barrels, far above forecasts, while gasoline stocks fell by 2.593 million barrels.
- Industry figures from API a day earlier pointed to a smaller 2.3 million-barrel crude build and a gasoline increase, underscoring a sharp split with the government report.
- Cushing, Oklahoma inventories rose by 4 million barrels, a notable change at the storage hub that sets delivery for WTI futures and can sway U.S. oil prices if space tightens.
- Oil markets grappled with mixed signals as prices slipped in early Wednesday trade even with reports of stalled tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and output losses in Iraq, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia.
- U.S. crude production has eased for four straight weeks to about 13.668 million barrels per day, and the Strategic Petroleum Reserve has held at 415.4 million barrels, leaving less room for a rapid emergency release.