US crude oil stockpiles rise for third straight week

US crude oil inventories increased for a third consecutive week while gasoline stocks declined for the first time in three months, according to data released Wednesday by the US Energy Information Administration, Report informs via WSJ.

Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve rose by 4.1 million barrels to 427.9 million barrels in the week ended February 7 and were about 4% below the five-year average for the time of year, the EIA said. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected crude stockpiles to be up by 2.4 million barrels.