Brent gains as US crude stock build falls short of expectations

Front-month ICE Brent crude futures increased by $0.40/bbl in the half hour after official weekly figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) were released this afternoon.

PHOTO: Oil refinery complex with big American flag displayed, and fumes coming out from the chimney. Getty Images

Commercial US crude inventories grew by 533,000 bbls on the week, to 448.55 million bbls on 20 January, according to the EIA. That was way less than the American Petroleum Institute (API) projection of a 3.4 million bbl-build a day earlier.

Refinery utilisation increased by 0.80 percentage points to a four-week high of 86.1%.

Gasoline stocks gained for the third consecutive week, which may signal weaker demand.

By Nithin Chandran

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