Houston: U.S. commercial crude oil inventories increased by 2,774 thousand barrels, bringing the total to 426,929 thousand barrels.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) under the Department of Energy reported the rise in crude oil inventories. Analysts had predicted a decrease of 1,300 thousand barrels in U.S. commercial crude oil inventories.

Data on U.S. oil inventories is known to significantly impact the global market price of crude oil, often referred to as ‘black gold’.