BREAKING: OIL drops after US inventory data

US Department of Energy (DOE) issued an official weekly report on US oil inventories today at 3:30 pm BST. Report was expected to show decline in all three major categories - oil, gasoline and distillates. However, private API report released yesterday suggested a noticeable build in headline crude inventories as well as large increase in gasoline inventories.

Actual DOE report turned out to be a bearish surprise - crude oil and gasoline inventories unexpectedly increased, while distillate inventories dropped much less than expected and less than suggested by API report yesterday. Oil dropped following the release, with Brent (OIL) now trading around $0.35 per barrel lower compared to pre-DOE levels.

DOE report on US oil inventories

• Oil inventories: +3.59 mb vs -3.0 mb expected (API: +0.91 mb)
• Gasoline inventories: +2.65 mb vs -1.1 mb expected (API: +3.84 mb)
• Distillate inventories: -0.38 mb vs -1.5 mb expected (API: -1.18 mb)

Source: xStation5