U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Unexpectedly Show Another Jump

(RTTNews) - Crude oil inventories in the U.S. unexpectedly saw another significant increase in the week ended March 29th, according to a report released by the Energy Information Administration on Wednesday.

The EIA said crude oil inventories shot up by 3.2 million barrels last week, matching the surge seen in the previous week. The continued increase surprised economists, who had expected crude oil inventories to fall by 1.5 million barrels.

At 451.4 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories remain about 2 percent below the five-year average for this time of year, the EIA said.

Meanwhile, the report said gasoline inventories tumbled by 4.3 million barrels last week and are about 3 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.

Distillate fuel inventories, which include heating oil and diesel, also fell by 1.3 million barrels and are about 7 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.