Brent crude oil futures traded above $48 a barrel today following the sharp increase in US domestic crude oil stocks.

Reuters reported that US crude CLc1 increased 5 cents to approximately $44.50 a barrel, while Brent LCOc1 was up 26 cents at $48.73 a barrel.

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"The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed that domestic crude oil stocks increased by around 9 million barrels week-on-week to nearly 407 million."

Data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) revealed that domestic crude oil stocks increased by around 9 million barrels week-on-week to nearly 407 million.

The American Petroleum Institute (API) recently revealed that US crude inventories increased by 12.7 million barrels last week, which is three times more than the estimated volume.

Oil prices have already dropped by more than 50% since June 2014 because of growing oversupply and weak global demand.

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The situation is allowing traders to buy oil now to store and sell at a higher price in the future.

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Analysts estimate stockpiles to increase further as US production shows no indications of a slow-down.

Analysts at Energy Aspects were quoted by the news agency as saying: "With weak pricing and contango structures across most US grades, storage plays will continue to attract material into tanks. Until seasonal maintenance is out of the way there appears to be little incentive to do otherwise."