A report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration showed crude oil inventories at the Cushing Hub in Oklahoma and across the U.S. rose in the past week.
Nationally, the gain was said to be 1.837 million barrels for the week ending December 22. A week earlier, the increase was 939,000 barrels of crude oil.
The Cushing Hub increased its stored crude oil by 1.57 million barrels, down from the 1.853 million barrel gain recorded the previous week. The EIA stated that Cushing’s total is up to 34 million barrels compared to 32.5 million a week earlier.
The total for Cushing is also nearly 36% more than a year ago when it held 25 million barrels of crude oil, but is 2.2% less than two years ago when it held 34.7 million barrels.
The Department of Energy announced earlier this week that the nation’s oil inventories in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve grew by 800,000 barrels, reaching a total of 353.3 million barrels. The Biden administration has been repuchasing crude oil after drawing down the SPR to lower gasoline prices.
