Oil Inventories Build Is Than Expected

A bigger than expected build in oil inventories led initially to a sharp drop in the price of crude, as the maintenance season for refineries begins. Inventories grew by 7.1 million barrels last week to 377.7 million barrels. Refineries operated at 86.7 percent of capacity, which was down from 88.1 percent in the prior week. Oil futures initially dropped 0.90 following the news, trading down to 81.60. They subsequently have recovered by 1.02 to trade higher on the day, currently at 82.62.