API informa una fuerte caída de los inventarios de crudo de EE. UU. mientras la SPR alcanza un nuevo mínimo
Puntos clave
- •U.S. crude inventories declined by 3.296 million barrels in the week ending July 24, according to API data.
- •Commercial crude stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve have fallen by just over 54 million barrels over the past 15 weeks.
- •The Strategic Petroleum Reserve lost another 3.7 million barrels, leaving total holdings at 307.7 million barrels, the lowest level in more than 43 years.
- •U.S. crude production slipped to 13.798 million barrels per day for the week ending July 17, but remained 525,000 barrels per day above year-ago output.
- •Gasoline inventories rose by 918,000 barrels, while distillate inventories fell by 125,000 barrels and Cushing stocks dropped by 273,000 barrels.
The American Petroleum Institute estimated that U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 3.296 million barrels in the week ending July 24. In the previous week, U.S. crude stocks rose by 2.603 million barrels.
According to API data, commercial crude inventories excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve have declined by just over 54 million barrels over the past 15 weeks. U.S. crude inventories are down by about 3 million barrels so far this year, while draws from the SPR have helped offset the decline in commercial stocks.
For the week ending July 24, another 3.7 million barrels were removed from the SPR, bringing total holdings to 307.7 million barrels. That is well below the 2023 low reached during the Biden administration’s large drawdown and marks the lowest level in more than 43 years. SPR inventories are now 424 million barrels below maximum capacity.
It is generally accepted that the operational minimum for the SPR is between 250 million and 300 million barrels, below which the reserve may struggle to pump and process oil efficiently.
U.S. production for the week ending July 17 slipped to 13.798 million bpd from 13.861 million bpd in the previous week. Output was still 525,000 bpd higher than a year earlier.
At 3:24 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Brent crude was trading at $83.95, down 4.99% on the day and more than $7 per barrel lower than a week earlier. WTI was at $79.10, down $3.51 per barrel, or 4.25%, on the day and more than $5 per barrel below the level seen at the same time last week.
Gasoline inventories increased by 918,000 barrels in the week ending July 24, after falling by 1.379 million barrels in the prior week. The previous EIA data showed gasoline inventories were already 7% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Distillate inventories fell by 125,000 barrels after rising by 1.759 million barrels the week before. The latest EIA data showed distillate inventories were already 10% below the five-year average as of the week ending July 17, leaving less cushion in middle distillate supplies even as weekly changes remain relatively small.
Cushing inventories, the stocks held at the delivery hub for the WTI crude futures contract, declined by another 273,000 barrels during the reporting period after falling by 737,000 barrels in the prior week.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
