Oil stockpiles rise in week

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8 (UPI) — U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 3.4 million barrels in the week ending Aug. 27, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

The agency said crude inventories increased to 361.7 million barrels during the week with supplies remaining above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year.

Gasoline inventories fell by 200,000 barrels in the week. At 225.4 million barrels, stockpiles of gasoline are also above the upper limit of the average range.

Supplies of distillate fuels, which include heating oil, dropped by 800,000 barrels to 175.2 million barrels.

Inventories of finished gasoline fell, while stocks of gasoline blending components rose during the week, the energy agency reported.

Using a four-week rolling average, demand for motor gasoline, averaging 9.4 million barrels per day, rose 1.9 percent from a year ago, while demand for distillate fuel, at 3.7 million barrels per day, rose 7.8 percent from a year ago.

Demand for jet fuel in the week was 1.6 percent higher than a year ago, the EIA said.

The national average retail price for gasoline fell 2.2 cents from a week ago but came in 6.9 cents higher than a year ago on Aug. 30, with an average price of $2.682 per gallon, the report said.