U.S. commercial crude oil stocks are expected to have increased 380,000 barrels during the week ended January 2, a Platts analysis and survey of oil analysts showed.The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is scheduled to release its weekly data at 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT) Wednesday.The EIA five-year average shows inventories inching 153,000 barrels higher during this reporting week.

U.S. crude oil stocks are at healthy levels compared with recent historical standards. At 385 million barrels on December 26, crude oil stocks were 12.3% above the EIA five-year average (2009-2013) for the same reporting week.

The steep drop in oil prices is raising the possibility some oil companies may try to accumulate crude oil to take advantage of prices for prompt delivery.

Analysts expect the U.S. refinery utilization rate to rise 0.125 percentage point to 94.5% of operable capacity. For the same reporting period one year earlier, refineries operated at 92.3% of capacity, EIA data showed.

Apart from refinery utilization, another variable influencing crude oil stock movements is imports, which have been seesawing recently.

Over the last three reporting periods, imports swung from 7.1 million barrels per day (b/d) to 8.3 million b/d, the highest since September 2013, and back down to 7.1 million b/d, according to EIA data.

Some analysts said tanker off-loadings might have been delayed for tax-reporting purposes during the last full week of 2014. If so, imports could bounce back for the week ended January 2.

GASOLINE STOCKS EXPECTED HIGHER

U.S. gasoline stocks are expected to have risen 2.25 million barrels, according to the analysts surveyed. The EIA five-year average shows inventories rising 4.9 million barrels in the comparable reporting week.

With refineries churning out refined products, demand has proved insufficient to digest the extra supplies, causing gasoline stocks to build.

Gasoline stocks have increased for eight weeks in a row. Over that period, inventories have risen about 27 million barrels and flipped from a deficit to a surplus relative to the EIA five-year average.

At 229 million barrels in the reporting week ended December 26, U.S. gasoline stocks were 4.4% above the EIA's five-year average.

U.S. distillate stocks are expected to have increased 2.06 million barrels over the latest reporting week.

The EIA five-year average shows U.S. distillates rising 3.5 million barrels for the same reporting period.
Source: Platts