The buildup of crude oil in storage at the Cushing hub in northern Oklahoma had no letup in the past week, another sign of what has happened to petroleum inventories.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reports Cushing now holds, as of January 27, 2023, an estimated 38 million barrels of crude oil, a gain of 2.3 million from January 20 when 35.7 million barrels were in storage.
A year ago, Cushing held 30.5 million barrels of crude oil in storage.
At the beginning of January, an estimated 27.8 million barrels were in storage.
The buildup of crude oil at Cushing reflected what has occurred across the U.S. Government data was released this week showing big gains in inventories of crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories. As a result, crude oil prices on Wednesday slid more than $3 a barrel.
The EIA indicated inventories increased last week to their highest levels since June 2021.