Strategic Petroleum Reserve falls to lowest level in four decades
Commercial crude oil inventories rose 17.4 million barrels last week to 424.4 million barrels, according to data the U.S. Energy Information Administration released Wednesday.
The build in the week ended Aug. 7 defied analyst expectations of a 600,000-barrel decline, leaving commercial crude stocks about 2% below the five-year average for the time of year, according to a Wall Street Journal survey.
The government’s emergency reserve fell by 6.1 million barrels to 298.7 million barrels, its lowest level in more than four decades, as the Department of Energy continued emergency releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
Refineries ran at 96.2% of capacity, down from 96.5% the week before, with crude input up by 26,000 barrels a day at 17.2 million barrels a day. Analysts had expected refinery capacity use to fall by 0.2 of a percentage point.
Crude oil imports rose by 1.1 million barrels a day to 7.3 million barrels a day, while exports fell by 627,000 barrels a day to 3.1 million barrels a day. U.S. crude oil production held steady at 13.8 million barrels a day.
Stocks at Cushing, Okla., the Nymex delivery hub, rose by 1.6 million barrels to 22.6 million barrels.
Gasoline inventories declined by 1 million barrels to 208.7 million barrels, a level about 6% below the five-year average, the EIA said. Gasoline demand fell by 67,000 barrels a day to 9 million barrels a day, versus an expected 1.3 million-barrel drop in gasoline stocks. Distillate fuel stocks slipped by 10,000 barrels to 107.1 million barrels, compared with expectations of a 1.6 million-barrel decline, and stood 12% below the five-year average for the time of year.