US enhances oil reserves by purchasing 3 million barrels

The US Department of Energy announced that the United States purchased 3 million barrels of oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve at an average price of $77.69 per barrel.

Oil prices fell today, Thursday, as markets awaited the latest data on US crude oil inventories, at a time when indicators of the strength of the US economy reinforce expectations that borrowing costs will remain high for a longer period, which constitutes a potential blow to demand.

Last week, the US Energy Information Administration said that crude oil inventories fell in the United States, while gasoline and distillate stocks rose last week.

The administration added that crude inventories fell by 4.2 million barrels to 454.7 million in the week ending May 24, compared to the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters that they would decline by 1.9 million barrels.