EIA: US crude stocks fall as refining increases.
The Energy Information Administration reported on Wednesday that U.S. crude inventories dropped last week, as refiners increased production. Gasoline and distillate stocks also fell.
The EIA reported that crude inventories dropped by 3.3 millions barrels, to 433.6 million in the week ending March 21. This was a far cry from the 956 thousand barrels analysts had predicted in a survey.
Refinery crude production increased by 87,000 barrels a day. The refinery utilization rate also rose, by 0.1 percent, to 87%, for the third consecutive week, as refiners finished their seasonal maintenance.
Josh Young, Chief Investment Officer at Bison Interests, said: "We're seeing some improvement from increased refinery usage."
Brent crude futures, and U.S. West Texas intermediate crude futures, were both up over 1% for the day, at $73.88 and $69.93, respectively.
Following the release of these data, prices retreated a bit as the gasoline inventories were lower than expected, and the product supply, which is a proxy measure for demand, disappointed the market participants.
The EIA reported that U.S. gasoline inventories fell by 1.4m barrels last week, to 239.1m barrels. This was compared to expectations of a 1.8m barrel draw.
The amount of gasoline supplied fell from 8.8 to 8.6 millions bpd.
Bob Yawger of Mizuho's Energy Futures said, "That is not very impressive." We have only two months until Memorial Day, when the summer driving season begins. ?
The EIA reported that distillate stocks, which includes diesel and heating oil fell by 420,000 bbls last week, as opposed to the expected 1.6 million barrel drop.
The data revealed that the U.S. supply of jet fuel, which is a proxy for aviation fuel demand, fell to 1.4m bpd in the past week, the lowest level since February 2024.
The EIA reported that net U.S. crude exports increased by 845,000 barrels per day last week.
The EIA reported that crude stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma's delivery hub, fell by 755,000 barrels. (Reporting and editing by Margueritachoy; Additional reporting by Nicole Jao, Liz Hampton, and Stephanie Kelly)
(source: Reuters)
