Gasoline and distillate stocks build as refinery use slips
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday that commercial crude oil inventories fell by 640,000 barrels to 423.4 million barrels in the week ended September 11, the third consecutive weekly decline and a smaller draw than analysts had anticipated.
According to the EIA, crude stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve were 1% above the five-year average for the time of year. The withdrawal fell short of the 1.4 million barrel decline projected by analysts in a Wall Street Journal survey.
Oil stored in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 403,000 barrels to 285 million barrels. Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the Nymex delivery hub, declined by 342,000 barrels to 21.5 million barrels.
U.S. crude oil production was estimated at 13.9 million barrels a day, practically unchanged from the previous week. Crude oil imports rose by 234,000 barrels a day to 7.1 million barrels a day, while exports climbed by 1.4 million barrels a day to 4.8 million barrels a day.
Refineries operated at 96.8% of capacity during the week, down from 97.8% the previous week. Crude input to refineries fell by 256,000 barrels a day to 17.3 million barrels a day. Analysts had forecast refinery utilization to fall by 0.6 of a percentage point.
Gasoline inventories increased by 794,000 barrels to 207.7 million barrels and were 5% below the five-year average for the time of year, according to the EIA. Gasoline demand rose by 247,000 barrels a day to 8.8 million barrels a day. Analysts had expected gasoline stocks to decrease by 800,000 barrels.
Distillate fuel stocks increased by 1.6 million barrels to 107.9 million barrels, the EIA reported, putting them 13% below the five-year average for the time of year. Distillate inventories were seen as unchanged in the Journal survey.
Anthony Harrup reported from Mexico City for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.