EIA reports a surprise weekly climb in U.S. crude supplies
The Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories rose by 5.7 million barrels for the week ended July 3. That followed a fall of 7.2 million barrels the week before and compared with a forecast by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts for an average decline of 3.7 million barrels. The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported an increase of 2 million barrels, according to sources. The EIA data also showed crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla., storage hub edged up by about 2.2 million barrels for the week. Gasoline supply fell by 4.8 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles climbed by 3.1 million barrels. The S&P Global Platts survey had shown expectations for supply declines of 1.2 million barrels for gasoline and 500,000 barrels for distillates. August West Texas Intermediate crude
CLQ20,
fell by 3 cents, or 0.07%, at $40.59 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices traded at $40.65 before the supply data.
