Oil falls as US inventories rose

Oil drilling rigs

Oil prices declined today, March 27, as markets evaluated US inventory data for the week ended March 22.

Brent crude futures for June delivery (the most active) fell 0.25%, or 22 cents, to close at $85.41 a barrel.

WTI crude for May delivery fell by 0.35%, or 27 cents, to $81.35 a barrel, after an earlier decline to $80.55.

Data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed that oil inventories rose by 3.2 million barrels last week, contrary to expectations of a 700,000-barrel decline.

Crude inventories at the Cushing Delivery Center increased by 2.1 million barrels to 33.5 million barrels.

The EIA said that the US oil production was unchanged at 13.1 million barrels per day in the last week, but the report showed a decline in demand for oil—measured by finished products supplied to the market—by about 212,000 barrels per day.