US crude oil inventories rise 2.6M barrels last week: API

Oil tanks

US commercial crude oil inventories rose by 2.6 million barrels in the week ended July 17, according to estimates released by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

In a report issued on July 21, the API said that gasoline inventories fell by 1.38 million barrels during the week, while distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, increased by 1.76 million barrels.

Official data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) is due on July 22. Analysts expect crude inventories to have declined by one million barrels.

At Tuesday’s settlement, September Brent crude futures added 2%, or $1.79, to settle at $91.01 per barrel, while August WTI crude futures gained a similar percentage, or $1.68, to $84.91 per barrel.