WASHINGTON, 24th September, 2026 (WAM) -- Oil prices rose nearly 4% at settlement on Wednesday after volatile trading, as US data showed crude inventories increased while gasoline and distillate stocks declined.
Brent crude futures jumped $3.83, or 3.86%, to settle at $103.08 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $1.64, or 1.81%, to $92.16 a barrel.
In the meantime, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said crude oil inventories rose by 3 million barrels in the week ended 18th September to 426.4 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for a decline of 641,000 barrels.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 2.2 million barrels to 23.7 million barrels.
Refinery crude runs fell by 519,000 barrels per day, while refinery utilisation rates declined by 2.8 percentage points to 94%.
Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 428,000 barrels to 107.4 million barrels, while gasoline stocks declined by 1.7 million barrels to 206 million barrels.
Meanwhile, US net crude oil imports rose by 369,000 barrels per day during the week.