Brent prices slump after US crude stockpiles rise

Front-month ICE Brent crude futures dropped by $0.50/bbl in the first hour after the official weekly oil figures from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) were released today.

PHOTO: Oil refinery and pipeline in the desert during sunset. Getty Images

Commercial crude oil inventories in the US rose by 1.23 million bbls to 456 million bbls in the week ending 31 May.

Refinery crude runs increased by 61,000 b/d as the country's refinery utilisation rose by 1.1 percentage points to 95.4% last week. US refinery utilisation averaged 92% in May- the highest since last December.

Gasoline stocks increased by 2.10 million bbls on the week to 231 million bbls – the highest in ten weeks.

Distillate stocks, which include diesel and gasoil, increased by a massive 3.20 million bbls to 122 million bbls – the highest in sixteen weeks.

By Debarati Bhattacharjee

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