US commercial crude stocks build, SPR posts record drawdown as refiners ramp up

NEW YORK: US commercial crude oil inventories rose unexpectedly last week, while crude in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by a record amount as refiners’ inputs rose to their highest since January 2020, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.

Crude inventories rose by 2 million barrels in the week to June 3 to 416.8 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.9 million-barrel drop.

SPR crude stocks fell by record 7.3 million barrels to 519.3 million, their lowest since March 1987.