U.S. Crude Stocks Nearly Unchanged as Gasoline Inventories Drop, EIA Data Shows
Key Takeaways
- •U.S. commercial crude inventories increased by 100,000 barrels to 428.9 million barrels in the week ended August 21.
- •The EIA reading was far smaller than the American Petroleum Institute's estimate of a 4.2 million-barrel crude build.
- •Brent and WTI crude prices were both lower in New York morning trading after the report.
- •Motor gasoline inventories fell by 2.5 million barrels, while gasoline production rose to 9.8 million barrels per day.
- •Distillate inventories rose by 2.2 million barrels, and total products supplied over the last four weeks were down 3.0% from a year earlier.
U.S. crude oil inventories were essentially unchanged in the latest weekly report, rising by just 100,000 barrels in the week ending August 21, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The marginal build brought commercial crude stockpiles to 428.9 million barrels, a level 1% above the five-year average for this time of year, the government figures showed.
The EIA's release followed estimates published a day earlier by the American Petroleum Institute (API), which reported a far larger crude inventory build of 4.2 million barrels for the same period.
Crude futures were trading lower at 9:49 a.m. in New York. Brent crude stood at $86.94 per barrel, down $1.58 (-1.78%) on the day and nearly $5 per barrel below its level at the same time last week. WTI was also down on the day, losing $1.22 per barrel (-1.48%) to trade at $81.14 on Wednesday morning, more than $4 per barrel lower than at this point last week.
On the products side, total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 2.5 million barrels, after a 700,000-barrel increase in the prior week. The most recent figures showed average daily gasoline production rising to 9.8 million barrels. The drop in gasoline stocks came alongside a four-week average of gasoline demand at 8.9 million barrels per day, indicating the EIA's weekly data continues to be watched closely for signs of how fuel balance is shifting as the summer driving period progresses.
Middle distillate inventories posted a build of 2.2 million barrels, while production declined to an average of 5.1 million barrels per day. Distillate stocks now stand 14% below the five-year average.
Total products supplied — a proxy for U.S. oil demand — averaged 20.5 million barrels per day over the last four weeks, down 3.0% compared with the same period last year. Gasoline demand averaged 8.9 million barrels per day over the four-week window, while distillate demand averaged 3.8 million barrels per day, a decline of 2.2% year over year.
Reporting by Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com.
