EIA: oil reserves in the United States unexpectedly decreased

According to the weekly report from the Energy Information Administration of the US Department of Energy, commercial oil reserves (excluding strategic reserve) for the week ended June 2 unexpectedly decreased by 0.5 million barrels to 459.2 million barrels. Analysts, on the contrary, expected an increase in inventories by 1 million barrels.

Oil reserves at the country's largest terminal in Cushing increased from 38.9 million to 40.6 million barrels.

At the same time, gasoline stocks in the United States increased by 2.7 million barrels (by 1.3%), to 218.8 million. Analysts had expected an increase of 0.9 million barrels. Distillate reserves increased by 5 million barrels (by 4.8%) and amounted to 111.7 million barrels. Experts predicted an increase of 1.3 million.

As for the strategic reserve, it decreased by 1.9 million barrels to 353.6 million barrels. The indicator still remains at its lowest since September 9, 1983, when it was 353.3 million barrels of oil. 

The strategic reserve of oil in the United States has been continuously declining from September 2021 to the beginning of this year. In the period from January to March of this year, the indicator did not change, and then began to fall again. Last year, US President Joe Biden announced the release of 180 million barrels of oil from the strategic reserve to reduce domestic gasoline prices. At the same time, he was severely criticized by political opponents for emptying the reserve without an emergency.