US Crude Oil Inventories See Surprise 10 Million Barrel Spike

The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the United States rose by a staggering 10.263 million barrels in the week ending March 27. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories rose by 2.3 million barrels. Analysts had expected a draw of 1.3 million barrels in the current reporting period. Inventories in the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) drew down for the first week in many, sinking by 300,000 barrels to 415.1 million barrels as of the week ending March 27. This is 310.4 million barrels shy of maximum…