HOUSTON/DENVER — U.S. crude stocks excluding barrels in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve posted a surprise build and made their largest weekly gain since January 2023 last week as exports slumped, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose by 17.4 million barrels to 424.4 million barrels in the week ended August 7, their highest level since June 5, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4 million-barrel draw. “Ongoing weakness in crude exports has combined with a massive jump in imports to drive on the second largest crude inventory build in history - with the vast majority of the build happening on the Gulf Coast,” said Matt Smith, commodity research director at Kpler. Crude stocks along the U.S. Gulf Coast rose by their most in a week since January 2023. Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub USOICC=ECI rose by 1.6 million barrels. U.S. and Brent crude futures initially extended losses after the report showed the large, surprise build in stocks but were trading flat on the day by 11:32 a.m. EDT. U.S. crude exports slump U.S. crude exports fell last week to their lowest level since November 2025 at 3.06 million bpd, also marking their lowest point since the start of the Iran war, in which the U.S. has stepped up as a key global supplier to fill supply gaps left by a shortage of Middle Eastern barrels. “This week’s report shows a big oil inventory build, which looks anomalous. Exports were unusually low and imports were high. This would be bearish for oil if more builds appear in future reports, but seems more likely to be a one-off,” said Josh Young, chief investment officer at Bison Interests. Net U.S. crude imports USOICI=ECI rose by 1.77 million bpd, EIA said, their highest since June 2025, with imports from Canada and Venezuela hitting multi-month highs. “Today’s numbers are very noisy because of tankers unloading in the U.S., but they don’t alter the challenging fundamental picture. The SPR continues to shrink and gasoline was drawn down. Markets will likely look past this report and keep focusing on headlines out of the Middle East,” said David Russell, Global Head of Market Strategy at TradeStation Refinery crude runs USOICR=ECI rose by 26,000 barrels per day in the week, the EIA said. Refinery utilization rates USOIRU=ECI fell by 0.3 percentage points to 96.2 per cent. U.S. gasoline stocks USOILG=ECI fell by 1 million barrels in the week to 208.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.2 million-barrel draw. U.S. gasoline futures RBc1 extended their losses and were down 0.63 per cent after the data showed a smaller-than-expected stock draw in gasoline stocks. Distillate stockpiles USOILD=ECI, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 10,000 barrels in the week to 107.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.3 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed. U.S. diesel futures HOc1 reversed losses after the data and rose 0.54 per cent after the data, despite the smaller-than-expected diesel stockdraw. Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, fell by 335,000 bpd to 20.64 million bpd. --- Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston and Liz Hampton in Denver; Ediitng by Chizu Nomiyama
