Commercial crude oil stocks were up by 4.4 million barrels. U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose last week in a third consecutive build, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve were up by 4.4 million barrels at 428.8 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 14, and were in line with the five‑year average for the week, the EIA said. Crude stocks were expected to have fallen by 1.6 million barrels, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of analysts.

The Department of Energy released 5.3 million barrels from the SPR, bringing the reserve down to 293.4 million barrels. Oil stocks at Cushing, Okla., the Nymex delivery hub, fell by 1.3 million barrels to 21.3 million barrels. U.S. crude oil production averaged 13.8 million barrels a day and was up by 25,000 barrels a day from the week before, the EIA said. Crude oil imports fell by 746,000 barrels a day to 6.6 million barrels a day while exports increased by 1 million barrels a day to 4.1 million barrels a day.