By Yasin Ebrahim

Investing.com — U.S. crude oil inventories unexpectedly rose last week, the API reported Tuesday, but gasoline stocks fell exacerbating concerns about higher gas prices with just days to go until the start of the U.S. driving season when Americans take to the road for vacation.   

After settling at $109.77 per barrel, a U.S. benchmark traded at $110.52 per barrel after the report.

The week ending May 22nd saw a 567,000-barrel increase. 19. This is compared to the draw of 2.4million barrels that the API reported for the week before. Economists were expecting a decrease of about 690,000  barrels. 

Data from API also revealed that gasoline inventories declined by 4.2 millions barrels and distillate stocks fell by around 949,000. 

The decline in gasoline stocks comes just as demand for fuel will likely accelerate in the weeks ahead as the U.S.  summer driving season is about to begin soon. The official start of the season is at Memorial Day, which falls on May 31st. AAA data shows that gasoline prices in the U.S. rose to an all-time high of $4.59 per gallon. 

Expect the official government inventory report to be due Wednesday. It will show that weekly U.S. crude oil consumption fell by approximately 737,000 barrels last Thursday.