U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Unexpectedly Skyrocket

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday showed crude oil inventories in the U.S. unexpectedly skyrocketed in the week ended August 7th.

The EIA said crude oil inventories spiked by 17.4 million barrels last week after climbing by 2.5 million barrels in the previous week. Economists had expected crude oil inventories to fall by 1.4 million barrels.

At 424.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are still about 2 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the report said.

Meanwhile, the report said gasoline inventories dipped by 1.0 million barrels last week and are 6 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

The EIA said distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also edged down by 0.1 million barrels last week and are about 12 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.