US Crude Stocks Increase, Oil Output Hits COVID-era High: EIA

U.S. crude stocks rose unexpectedly in the most recent week as production reached its highest level since before the outset of the coronavirus pandemic, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on April 6.

Crude inventories rose by 2.4 million barrels in the week to April 1 to 412.4 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.1 million-barrel drop. That increase was in part due to a near 4 million-barrel release from the U.S. strategic reserves.

The Biden administration plans to release 1 million barrels of oil every day for the next six months to quell price increases in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. U.S. production also rose, hitting 11.8 million bbl/d, the highest since December 2021.