U.S. Crude Inventories Up

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories inched up last week by 200,000 barrels from the previous week, the Energy Department said Wednesday.

At 318 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories for the week ending July 29 remained above the upper end of the average range for this time of year.

The department’s report surprised some oil traders who had priced an expected inventory decline into the cost of a barrel of crude oil.

The department also said total motor gasoline inventories fell by 4 million barrels last week, putting them in the lower half of the average range.

But distillate fuel inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 1.5 million barrels last week, and are near the upper end of the average range for this time of year.

Meanwhile, refineries operated at 95.8 percent of their operable capacity last week, the department said.