The increase in U.S. crude stocks by 3.6 million barrels in the past week was responsible in part of a big drop in crude oil prices on Wednesday. The Cushing Hub also saw a gain of 1.9 million barrels from the prior week.
Nationally, crude stocks totaled 439.4 million barrels, reported the U.S .Energy Information Administration. The buildup has been steady over the past several weeks, beginning in late September when the nation’s crude stocks totaled 414.1 million barrels. So, the nation has seen a more than 25 million barrel gain since then.
The Cushing Hub held 25 million barrels of oil as of November 10, up from the 23.1 million recorded on October 27. Cushing’s total at the end of September was 22.1 million barrels.
