Commercial crude oil inventories in the United States, which are not taking into account those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, increased by 3.5 million barrels to 443.0 million barrels in the week ending February 16, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed in its report on Thursday.
The figure marked a smaller-than-expected buildup. The country's inventories now stand about 2% below the five-year average for this time of year. US crude oil refinery inputs averaged 14.6 million barrels per day for the corresponding timeframe, which is 31,000 barrels per day more than the previous week's average.
During the reported week, refineries operated at 80.6% of their operable capacity last week, while gasoline production slowed, averaging 9.0 million barrels per day. Imports of crude oil in the country averaged 6.7 million barrels per day last week, rising by 184,000 barrels per day. Total commercial petroleum inventories tumbled by 800,000 barrels.
