U.S. crude oil inventories rose unexpectedly last week as imports increased and exports fell, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve rose by 17.4 million barrels to 424.4 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 7 and were about 2% below the five-year average for the time of year, the EIA said. Crude stocks were expected to have fallen by 600,000 barrels, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of analysts.

Oil stored in the SPR was down by 6.1 million barrels at 298.7 million barrels, its lowest level in more than four decades as the Department of Energy continued emergency releases. Oil stocks at Cushing, Okla., the Nymex delivery hub, were up by 1.6 million barrels at 22.6 million barrels.

Crude oil imports increased by 1.1 million barrels a day to 7.3 million barrels a day, while exports fell by 627,000 barrels a day to 3.1 million barrels a day. U.S. crude oil production was steady at 13.8 million barrels a day.