U.S. reserves of crude oil, refined fuels increase

U.S. reserves of commercial crude oil, gasoline and other refined fuels increased last week, the Energy Department said Wednesday in its weekly petroleum report.

In the week to Sept. 29, crude oil inventories jumped 3.3 million barrels to 328.1 million, or 6.7 percent above year-ago levels. The surge surprised analysts who were expecting crude oil stocks to fall by 1.1 million barrels.

Gasoline stockpiles increased 1.2 million barrels to 215.1 million, or 9.6 percent more than last year. The rise was less than the advance of 1.5 million barrels expected by analysts.

Supplies of distillates, used for heating oil and diesel fuel, climbed up 200,000 barrels to 151.5 million, 18 percent above year ago levels. The gain was much less than forecasts of a gain of 1.5 million.

Last week, U.S. refineries ran at 89.9 percent of capacity, down from 92.4 percent in the previous week.

The figures for commercial crude oil inventories do not include the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which currently holds crude oil of about 700 million barrels.

Source: Xinhua