Washington: The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) announced Wednesday that US crude oil inventories rose last week.

According to Qatar News Agency, the EIA reported that crude oil inventories increased by 3.8 million barrels during the week ending June 27. This was in contrast to analysts' expectations, who had anticipated a decrease of 2 million barrels. This rise follows a previous decline of 5.8 million barrels identified in the preceding week.

The unexpected increase in inventories brings the total to 419 million barrels, approximately 9% below the five-year average for this time of year. Despite the overall increase in national inventories, the American Petroleum Institute noted last Tuesday that crude oil inventories at Cushing storage facilities fell by 1.4 million barrels last week.

Additionally, the EIA reported a rise in gasoline inventories by 4.2 million barrels last week. This amount is approximately 1% below the five-year average. On the other hand, refined petroleum stocks, including heating oil and diesel, experienced a decrease of 1.7 million barrels, maintaining a position about 21 percent below the five-year average for this time of year.