SunSirs: U.S. Crude Oil and Refined Product Inventories Declined Last Week

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday that U.S. crude oil and refined product inventories fell last week due to rising demand.

EIA data showed that crude oil inventories fell by 607,000 barrels to 414.8 million barrels in the week ending September 19, compared with analysts' expectations for a 235,000-barrel increase.

The data also showed that crude oil inventories at the Cushing, Oklahoma delivery hub rose by 177,000 barrels. U.S. net crude oil imports increased by 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), while crude oil exports fell by 793,000 bpd to 4.48 million bpd.

Crude oil futures prices maintained their gains following the inventory report.

Brent crude futures, the global benchmark, were at $68.57 a barrel, up 94 cents; U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were at $64.36 a barrel, up 95 cents.

The EIA said refinery crude runs increased by 52,000 barrels per day (bpd), but capacity utilization fell 0.3 percentage points to 93%.

"Refineries are still running at full capacity," said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital. "Crude exports have declined, but remain supportive at 4.5 million bpd."

The EIA said total refined product supplies, a measure of demand, rose by 156,000 bpd to 20.79 million bpd, 190,000 bpd above the four-week average of 20.28 million bpd in the same period last year.

Gasoline inventories fell by 1.1 million barrels to 216.6 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations for a 150,000-barrel increase.

Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 1.7 million barrels to 123 million barrels, the EIA data showed, compared with expectations for a 494,000-barrel decrease.

Kilduff added, “The market is watching distillate demand closely because it’s a barometer for industrial demand, commercial transportation and heating demand. The fact that inventories are falling is good news.”

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