EIA: US crude inventories rose last week, but gasoline draws down

The latest data from the Energy Information Agency (EIA) showed a buildup of 3.6 million barrels in US crude inventories in the week ending 30 July 2021, to 439.2 million barrels while gasoline stocks fell 5.3 million barrels, much higher than market expectations.

Industry experts said that the overall product supplies remain high, suggesting that the market is coping with the rising number of COVID-19 infection cases. 

Refineries utilization rates inched 0.2 percentage points higher compared to last week, to 91.3%. 

Net crude imports rose by 510,000 barrels per day last week.