Wholesale inventories were down by 1.5% in February compared to January’s level. A 0.7% decline was reported a month ago. Market participants expected a 0.6% decline today.
U.S. crude oil inventories gained 1.7 million barrels last week and are now well above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. With the current rate of growth they will surpass 400 million barrels by the end of the year.
