The 7.2-million-barrel drawdown in commercial crude stocks for the week ended June 5 was larger than the 2.9-million-barrel decline analysts had expected, according to a Wall Street Journal survey. The EIA said crude stocks stood at about 5% below the five-year seasonal average.
Refineries operated at 95.3% of capacity, up from 94.7% the previous week, the highest utilization rate reported in recent weeks. Crude inputs rose by 80,000 barrels per day to 17 million barrels per day, the EIA said.
The Strategic Petroleum Reserve continued to draw down as the administration releases oil to address supply disruptions stemming from the conflict in the Middle East. SPR stocks fell by 7.9 million barrels to 349.2 million barrels, bringing total emergency releases since the disruptions began to 66.3 million barrels. At the Nymex delivery hub in Cushing, Oklahoma, stocks fell by 801,000 barrels to 21.6 million barrels.
U.S. crude oil production averaged 13.8 million barrels per day, up 92,000 barrels per day from the prior week, according to the EIA. Crude imports fell by 509,000 barrels per day to 5.9 million barrels per day, while exports fell by 1 million barrels per day to 4.8 million barrels per day.
In product markets, gasoline inventories rose by 186,000 barrels to 215.1 million barrels, defying expectations for a 600,000-barrel decline. Gasoline demand increased by 137,000 barrels per day to 8.7 million barrels per day, but stocks remained about 6% below the five-year average. Distillate fuel stocks, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 200,000 barrels to 102.1 million barrels, a smaller decline than the 500,000 barrels analysts had forecast. Distillate inventories were 13% below the five-year average, the EIA said.