US oil stocks post largest weekly increase in a year

U.S. commercial oil stocks posted last week their largest increase in a year due to a decline in exports and an increase in imports. The information was released by the federal energy information administration (EIA).

During the week ending February 6, crude oil stocks grew by 8.5 million barrels.

Excluding strategic reserves, stocks reached 428.8 million barrels, the highest level since June. It was also the largest weekly increase in a year.

At the Cushing (Oklahoma) hub, the main delivery terminal for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil in the United States, crude stockpiles increased by about 1 million barrels.

Strategic reserves remained stable with respect to the previous period, at 415.2 million barrels.

This increase in oil in storage is partly due to a drop in exports (-7.61 %), to about 3.7 million barrels per day, and an increase in imports (+9.74 %), to about 6.8 million barrels per day.