Crude Oil’s Biggest Tumble Since March Shown in Three Charts
- U.S. total crude and products supplies jump by most since 2008
- WTI-Brent spread narrows, encouraging U.S. crude oil imports
Oil Plunges on Unexpected Build in U.S. Inventories
Oil’s 5 percent tumble Wednesday, the biggest slide since March, followed government data that showed U.S. crude and fuel stockpiles unexpectedly soaring at a time of year when they normally decline. Here are three charts showing what made oil bulls run scared.
Total U.S. inventories of crude oil and products such as gasoline and diesel fuel surged the most since 2008 last week, according to the Energy Information Administration. The 15.5 million-barrel jump took investors by surprise, sending the market off a cliff. What caused the increase? Higher imports of crude, as well as a sharp decline in exports. Add in a 505,000 barrel a day drop in gasoline demand and you end up with growing stockpiles.