U.S. crude oil stocks rose 3 million barrels last week on an uptick in imports and a rise in domestic production to the highest level in 24 years, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed. At 362.1 million barrels for the reporting week ended August 23, crude stocks were about 4.5% greater than the EIA five-year average, but roughly 2.5 million barrels less than this time a year ago.
American Petroleum Institute (API) data late Tuesday showed a rise in crude oil stocks of 2.47 million barrels. Based on a Platts survey of analysts, crude stocks were expected to fall 250,000 barrels.
U.S. crude oil production rose 91,000 barrels per day (b/d) to 7.61 million b/d last week, the highest since 7.64 million b/d in October 1989.
U.S. crude oil imports rose 423,000 b/d to 8.374 million b/d, increasing in all regions except the U.S. West Coast and Rockies.
Imports to the U.S. Gulf Coast were up 262,000 b/d to 3.89 million b/d.
A 630,000-barrel-per-day drop in crude imports from Saudi Arabia to 1.03 million b/d was offset by a 353,000-b/d rise in Venezuelan imports to 753,000 b/d and a 276,000-b/d increase in Canadian imports to 2.66 million b/d. Nigerian imports were up 238,000 b/d to 420,000 b/d.
Gulf Coast crude stocks rose 4.4 million barrels due to a downed hydrocracker at Motiva's 600,000 b/d refinery in Port Arthur, Texas.
Atlantic Coast and West Coast crude oil inventories each rose 300,000 barrels, while stocks fell 800,000 barrels in the Midwest.
Crude oil inventories fell for the seventh consecutive week at the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) crude oil futures contract delivery hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, down 800,000 barrels to 36.59 million barrels. Stocks at Cushing are now at a 12.4% surplus to the EIA five-year average -- that's down from a more than 42% surplus to the five-year average at the start of June.
U.S. refiners upped run rates by 0.2 percentage points to 91.2% of capacity.
U.S. GASOLINE STOCKS DIP
U.S. gasoline stocks fell 600,000 barrels to 217.8 million barrels last week, less than expectations of a 1.5-million-barrel draw. Within that category, blending components fell 1.2 million barrels to 167.7 million barrels.
Implied* demand for finished gasoline slid 169,000 b/d to 9.03 million b/d, while blender net production of gasoline fell 51,000 b/d to 9.22 million b/d.
Gasoline stocks fell 200,000 barrels on the Atlantic Coast -- home to the New York Harbor-delivered NYMEX RBOB futures contract. Elsewhere, gasoline stocks rose 1 million barrels on the Gulf Coast, but fell 1.1 million barrels on the West Coast.
U.S. distillate stocks were down 300,000 barrels to 129 million barrels -- counter to expectations of a 1 million-barrel build.
Implied demand for distillate fuel was up 231,000 b/d to 3.84 million b/d on the week and nearly 280,000 b/d higher than a year earlier when demand was at 3.56 million b/d.
Stocks of ultra-low sulfur diesel fell 900,000 barrels to 107.4 million barrels. Overall, jet stocks rose 300,000 barrels, but fell in the Gulf and West Coasts by 200,000 barrels and 500,000 barrels, respectively.
Source: Platts