Investing.com — U.S. crude stockpiles jumped more than expected last week, the API reported Tuesday, but gasoline inventories dropped pointing to an ongoing recovery in refinery activity amid growing fuel demand.
, the U.S. benchmark, traded at $85.28 a barrel following the report after settling down 0.1% at $85.36 a barrel.
rose by about 4.09 million barrels for the week ended Apr. 12, compared with an increase of 3.03M barrels reported by the API for the previous week. Economists were expecting an increase of just 600,000 barrels.
The API data also showed that gasoline and distillate stockpiles fell by 2.51M barrels and 427,000 barrels, compared with expectations for draws of 1M and 400,000 barrels, respectively.
The report is due Wednesday.
