America is brimming with oil
America's oil stockpiles continue to boom.
Crude oil inventories rose 9.6 million barrels last week from 4.5 million the previous week, the Energy Information Administration said.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected an increase of 3.8 million barrels.
Oil supplies at Cushing, Oklahoma rose by 2.865 million barrels to a record high.
"At 458.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories are at the highest level for this time of year in at least the last 80 years," the EIA statement said.
@business
West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell by nearly 2% to around $44.39 per barrel. On Tuesday, it sank below $43, its lowest level in six years after the American Petroleum Institute said inventories rose more than expected last week by 10.5 million barrels to 450 million, with 3.8 million forecast.
After a brief recovery in January, WTI prices tumbled as the extent of oil oversupply in the US market became more apparent. Oil companies are fast running out of space to store oil.
Here's the latest chart of WTI:
