The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday that U.S. crude oil and distillate inventories fell in the week ending January 30, while gasoline inventories rose, impacted by a winter storm that swept across large parts of the United States.

The EIA said crude oil inventories decreased by 3.5 million barrels to 420.3 million barrels last week, as crude oil production fell to its lowest level since November 2024. Analysts had previously expected an increase of 489,000 barrels.

Bob Yawger, an analyst at Mizuho, ​​said the decline in U.S. crude oil production was mainly due to production shutdowns over the past week. The winter storm, which began on January 23, affected approximately 30 states, causing production disruptions that peaked at around 2 million barrels per day.

The EIA said crude oil inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery hub, decreased by 743,000 barrels.

Global benchmark Brent crude futures and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures briefly fell after the EIA data was released. The American Petroleum Institute (API) had estimated on Tuesday that crude oil inventories fell sharply by more than 11 million barrels last week.

The EIA said refinery crude runs decreased by 180,000 barrels per day last week, and refinery utilization fell by 0.4 percentage points to 90.5%.

EIA data showed that U.S. gasoline inventories increased by 685,000 barrels to 257.9 million barrels last week, the highest level since June 2020; analysts had previously expected an increase of 1.4 million barrels.

EIA data showed that distillate fuel inventories, including diesel and heating oil, decreased by 5.6 million barrels to 127.4 million barrels, while the market expected a decrease of 2.3 million barrels.

The data showed this was the largest single-week decrease in distillate inventories since February 2021.  Nevertheless, U.S. ultra-low sulfur diesel futures gave back gains and turned lower after the EIA data was released. Andy Lipow, president of Oil Associates, said this is because the market had already priced in the expected decline in inventories last week. "The futures market is currently reflecting the price of diesel for March delivery, and the weather is expected to begin its seasonal warming trend."

In addition, U.S. net crude oil imports increased by 1.101 million barrels per day to 2.15 million barrels per day.

If you have any enquiries or purchasing needs, please feel free to contact SunSirs with support@sunsirs.com.