EIA: US commercial crude inventories built up for the second week in a row

Commercial crude inventories in the US rose 3.3 million barrels in the week ending 8 July 2022 partly due to the large release of the strategic reserves while the post-Independence Day holiday demand started to slacken. 

Commercial stocks rose to 423.8 million barrels while Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell nearly 7 million barrels during the week. 

Meanwhile, gasoline stocks unexpectedly rose 5.8 million barrels to 219.1 million barrels. Industry experts said that the market is in a ‘hangover’ from the pre-holiday stock building. 

US refineries operated at 94.9% of their operable capacities, up 0.4% from the week before.