US crude inventories rise by most since October

Inventories of US crude rose for the fourth straight week and climbed by the most since October.

Inventories of US crude rose by 6.5m barrels in the week ended January 27, according to the Energy Information Administration. That compared with analysts’ estimates for an increase of 2.6m barrels and was the biggest streak of gains since April.

Stocks of oil at Cushing, Oklahoma, a key delivery hub, fell by a bigger than expected 1.25m barrels, compared with expectations for drop of 59,800 barrels.

Meanwhile, stocks of gasoline, the stuff crude is refined in to, rose 3.9m barrels, against expectations of a build 1.4m barrels. That marked the fifth-straight build.

Ahead of the release, West Texas Intermediate, the US oil benchmark, was up 0.7 per cent to $53.16 a barrel, while Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.9 per cent to $56.08 a barrel.