By Yasin Ebrahim
Investing.com - U.S. oil stockpiles rose last week and product inventories fell sharply following the cold snap that forced refiners to shut down operations in oil-rich Texas.
U.S. crude inventories rose 7.35 million barrels last week, according to an estimate released Tuesday by the American Petroleum Institute, after a build of 1.026 million barrels the previous week. Cushing inventories increased by 732,000 barrels, while gasoline inventories declined by about 10 million barrels, and distillate stocks decreased by about 9.1 million barrels.
Crude Oil WTI Futures, the U.S. benchmark for oil, fell $1.19 a barrel on the news after settling down 89 cents at $59.75 a barrel.
The build in crude inventories comes as major oil producers are expected to agree to ease production cuts at a key meeting this week amid concerns that demand will likely outstrip supply as the global vaccine-led recovery gathers pace.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Tuesday the U.S. will aim to vaccinate every adult in the nation by the end of May, two months earlier than previously expected.
The official government inventory report due Wednesday is expected to show weekly U.S. crude supplies increased by about 928,000 million barrels last week.