Crude Oil Stockpiles Climb To 331.4 Million Barrels

Crude inventories and gasoline supplies rose last week, the government said Friday.

  Crude inventories climbed by 2.4 million barrels, or 0.7 per cent, to 331.4 million barrels, which is 6.2 per cent below year-ago levels, the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report.

  Analysts expected a build of 2 million barrels for the week ended February 5, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

  Gasoline inventories rose by 2.3 million barrels, or 1 per cent, to 230.4 million barrels. That was above analyst expectations and 6 per cent above year-ago levels.

  At the same time, U.S. refineries ran at 79.1 per cent of total capacity on average, a rise of 1.4 per cent from the prior week. Analysts expected capacity to build to 77.8 per cent.

  Inventories of distillate fuel, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 300,000 barrels to 156.2 million barrels for the week ended February 5. Analysts expected distillate stocks to drop by 1.75 million barrels.

  Crude prices fell $1.88 to $73.40 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.