US crude oil inventories have increased by more than 10 million barrels, the biggest jump since March 2021.
Crude inventories rose by 10.2 million barrels to 424.1 million barrels in the week ending December 9th, with releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve a heavy influence along with a drop in refinery operations.
The crude stockpile amount was adjusted by 2.26 million barrels per day (bpd).
The dramatic increase in crude stocks occurs as a recession looms over the economies of the United States and Europe, causing markets to be concerned about the demand for crude oil and petroleum products.
EIA said that SPR crude inventories decreased by 4.7 million barrels to 382.3 million barrels, the lowest level since January 1984, while stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub for U.S. futures (USOICC=ECI) increased by 426,000 barrels.
The suspension of the Keystone pipeline, which transports around 620,000 bpd of crude from Canada to the United States, is anticipated to have a negative impact on Cushing and Gulf Coast stockpiles.