For the eighth straight week, crude oil stocks dropped at the Cushing oil delivery hub while nationwide crude stockpiles rose according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
In an announcement Wednesday, the EIA said the Cushing hub storage dropped by 543,000 barrels, falling to 34.9 million barrels, the lowest point since January 2020.
Nationally, the crude inventories increased 3.6 million barrels in the week to July 30, reaching 439.2 million barrels. It defied the predictions of analysts who forecast a drop of more than 3 million barrels.
Meanwhile, gasoline inventories fell, a sign of continuing strong demand for fuel. The EIA reported gasoline stocks dropped by 5.3 million barrels, far greater than the predicted 1.8 million barrel decline.
