US boosts crude oil stocks and output

ANKARA

The U.S.' crude oil stocks reached 449.5 million barrels for the week ending March 29, according to data released by the country's Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday.

Commercial crude oil stocks in the U.S. increased by 7.2 million barrels compared to the previous week, the EIA data showed.

The increase in stocks fueled higher oil prices that pushed to as much as $70 on Wednesday.

Strategic petroleum reserves, which are not included in the commercial crude oil stocks, remained unchanged fro the previous week at 649.1 million barrels.

Gasoline inventories decreased by 1.8 million barrels, or 0.7 percent, to 236.8 million barrels over the same period.

Crude oil production in the U.S. rose by 100,000 barrels to 12.2 million barrels per day (bpd) for the week ending March 29, the data showed.

The country imported 6.7 million bpd of crude oil, up by 223,000 bpd during the same period, while exports dropped by 163,000 bpd to 2.7 million bpd.