Surge in crude stocks across U.S. and the Cushing Hub

 

A more than 12-million barrel jump in U.S. crude inventories sent crude oil prices plunging on Wednesday and crude stocks at the Cushing Hub in Oklahoma added to the surprising surge.

U.S. inventories rose to 439.5 million barrels last week according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Analysts had expected only a 2.6 million barrel increase and they were caught off guard as refining dropped to its lowest levels since December 2022.

The U.S. inventory totaled 427.4 million barrels on February 2 of this year. The buildup in stored crude actually has increased nearly 19 million barrels since January 19 when the national total was 420.7 million barrels.

Cushing saw an increase from 28.1 million barrels on February 2 to 28.8 million barrels on February 9. A year ago, the Cushing Hub held 39.7 million barrels.