Oil Inventories Rise by More Than Expected 4M Barrels Last Week: API

By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com -- U.S. crude stockpiles increased by much more than expected last week, the API reported Tuesday, just as investors up their bets on supply disruptions as Hurricane Ian is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday.  

West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, traded at $78.11 a barrel following the report after settling up 2.3% at $78.50 a barrel.

U.S. crude inventories rose by 4 million barrels for the week ended Sept. 23. That compared with a build of 6.0 million barrels reported by the API in the previous week. Economists were expecting an increase of about 333,000 barrels.

Crude prices recovered from a soft start to the week on bets of supply disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Ian is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday. 

The U.S. offshore regulator said that 190,358 barrels per day of production was shut down in the Gulf of Mexico on hurricane disruptions. 

The API data also showed that gasoline inventories decreased by 1.0 million barrels last week, and distillate stocks rose by 438,000 barrels.

The official government inventory report due Wednesday is expected to show weekly U.S. crude supplies rose by 443,000 barrels last week.