U.S. Oil Inventories Jumped by 9.9 Million Barrels Last Week: EIA

By Liz Moyer

Investing.com -- U.S. crude oil inventories spiked by more than expected last week, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Crude oil inventories rose by 9.88 million barrels during the week ended Oct. 7, against expectations for a build of 1.75 million barrels, the EIA reported.

But the build also came as the Biden administration released 7.7 million barrels of crude from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve last week, the EIA data showed.

On the exports front, U.S. crude shipments also fell, to 2.87 million barrels last week from 4.55 million in the previous week, the EIA reported.

Combined, the two more than accounted up for the extraordinary crude inventory build during the week to Oct. 7, noted Investing.com analyst Barani Krishnan.

"There's been a lot of volatility of late with the weekly EIA reports and we can expect this to continue as both the Biden administration and OPEC+ lock horns on getting oil prices their way," said Krishnan. 

The EIA also reported that distillate stockpiles declined by 4.853 million barrels last week. The expectation had been for a draw of 2.05 million barrels.

Gasoline inventories, meanwhile, rose by 2.023 million barrels, against expectations for a draw of 1.825 million barrels, the EIA said.