U.S. Crude Oil Futures Update

U.S. crude oil futures remained stable in post-settlement trading on Tuesday after a surprising rise in domestic crude stocks was reported by the American Petroleum Institute.

Crude Oil WTI Futures, the U.S. benchmark, was priced at $73.12 a barrel after settling down 0.4% at $74.04 per barrel.

According to the report, U.S. crude inventories increased by approximately 347,000 barrels for the week ending August 16, contrasting with a draw of 5.2 million barrels reported for the prior week. Economists had anticipated a decline of around 2.8 million barrels.

In related news, gasoline stockpiles decreased by roughly 1 million barrels, while distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, also saw a decline of 2.2 million barrels.

The official government inventory report is expected on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT).