Gasoline and distillate stockpiles also increased in the week ended July 17, while crude stocks at the Cushing delivery hub declined and net crude imports rose.
US crude inventories unexpectedly increased by 2.011 million barrels in the week ended July 17, running counter to market expectations for a 1.25 million-barrel draw. The build was accompanied by a 765 thousand-barrel rise in gasoline stocks, versus forecasts for a 1.54 million-barrel draw, and a 1.395 million-barrel increase in distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, above expectations for a 0.83 million-barrel gain. At the same time, crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery hub for US oil futures contracts, fell by 674 thousand barrels, while net US crude imports climbed by 485 thousand barrels per day.