U.S. crude oil and fuel stockpiles fell last week, as demand continued to outstrip supply, with commercial crude inventories drawing down even as more strategic reserves entered the market.
Crude inventories fell by 5.1 million barrels in the week to May 27 to 414.7 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel drop.
The fall comes even though the U.S. government released more than 5 million barrels of reserves in the most recent week and as net crude imports rose by 83,000 bbl/d, the EIA said.
Refining runs fell by 236,000 bbl/d last week, the EIA said, dropping the overall utilization rate 0.6 percentage point to 92.6% nationwide, which is still seasonally strong, as the U.S. moves into peak summer driving season.
“Gasoline inventories showed a draw as implied demand kicked higher, despite record prices at the pump, while distillate inventories showed a minor draw too amid a tick higher in implied demand,” said Matt Smith, lead oil analyst, Americas, at Kpler.
U.S. gasoline stocks were only marginally lower, declining by 711,000 barrels in the week, while distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, dipped by 530,000 barrels.
Distillate stocks remain at all-time lows on the U.S. East Coast, which has few refineries and depends on transit from other parts of the United States and foreign imports. Refining use on the East Coast is running at more than 98%, highest in nearly four years.
Oil prices moved up after the data, with U.S. crude gaining $1.13, or 1%, to $116.38/bbl, and Brent up 96 cents to $117.27/bbl as of 11:32 a.m. EDT (1532 GMT).
Recommended Reading
Baker Hughes: US Drillers Add Oil, Gas Rigs for Third Week in a Row
2025-02-14 - U.S. energy firms added oil and natural gas rigs for a third week in a row for the first time since December 2023.
Exxon Seeks Permit for its Eighth Oil, Gas Project in Guyana as Output Rises
2025-02-12 - A consortium led by Exxon Mobil has requested environmental permits from Guyana for its eighth project, the first that will generate gas not linked to oil production.
VoltaGrid to Supply Vantage Data Centers with 1 GW of Powergen Capacity
2025-02-12 - Vantage Data Centers has tapped VoltaGrid for 1 gigawatt of power generation capacity across its North American hyperscale data center portfolio.
Chevron Completes Farm-In Offshore Namibia
2025-02-11 - Chevron now has operatorship and 80% participating interest in Petroleum Exploration License 82 offshore Namibia.
E&P Highlights: Feb. 10, 2025
2025-02-10 - Here’s a roundup of the latest E&P headlines, from a Beetaloo well stimulated in Australia to new oil production in China.
Comments
Add new comment
This conversation is moderated according to Hart Energy community rules. Please read the rules before joining the discussion. If you’re experiencing any technical problems, please contact our customer care team.