Weekly oil reserves in the US increase 700,000 barrels

Las commercial oil reserves US crude rose last week surprising analysts, who had expected a decline, according to figures released Thursday by the Energy Information Agency (EIA).

In the week ending December 23, these commercial inventories increased by 700,000 barrelswhile analysts expected a decrease of 1.2 million, according to a consensus established by the Bloomberg agency.

The acceleration of refinery activity, the increase in imports and the decrease in exports explain the increase in these stocks, which amounted to 419 million barrels.

Gasoline inventories, for their part, fell by 3.1 million barrels while forecasts pointed to an increase of half a million.

Distillate product reserves (diesel, fuel oil) were reduced by 300,000 barrels, when a drop of one million barrels was expected.

The prices of black gold, already falling before the publication of these figures, have accentuated their decline.

Around 16:15 GMT, the barrel of North Sea Brent for delivery in February it was down 1.57% at $81.95.

Its US equivalent, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery the same month, lost 1.80%, to $77.54.

The US government continued to draw on its strategic reserves, which are at their lowest level since 1983, drawing some 3.5 million barrels.

The Joe Biden administration has begun to replenish those reserves, but the result will not materialize for several weeks.