Crude stockpiles stood at 8.235 million barrels in the week that ended on July 1, the EIA said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report. Historical data showed it to be the highest build for US crude since the week that ended on May 6, when inventories stood at 8.487 million barrels.
“It’s definitely a sign of the higher availability of supply although production itself did not go up on the week,” energy markets commentator John Kilduff said, referring to production that remained static at 12.1 million barrels per day.
Oil drilling data by Baker Hughes shows an additional 15 rigs being put to work over the past month, bringing the tally to 595 as of last Friday from 580 on June 10.