EIA: U.S. Crude Stocks Rise 600K Bbl on Week, Fuels Up

SECAUCUS, NJ (DTN) — U.S. commercial crude oil inventories rose during the week ended November 28, along with a surge in gasoline and distillate fuel oil stocks, the Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday (12/3).

Commercial crude stocks rose by 600,000 bbl to 427.5 million bbl, following the prior week’s climb of 2.8 million bbl, the EIA said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report.

The latest weekly update on U.S. crude inventories put stockpiles at 4.1 million bbl, or 1%, above year-ago levels.

Despite the broader crude inventory build, stockpiles at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for NYMEX West Texas Intermediate futures, fell 500,000 bbl from the prior week to stand at 21.3 million bbl during the week ended November 28.

Distillate oil inventories rose by 2.1 million bbl to 114.3 million bbl, after the prior weekly growth of 1.1 million bbl. Year-on-year, however, distillate stocks were down 3.8 million bbl, with most of the draw occurring in low-sulfur grades.

Total motor gasoline inventories increased by 4.5 million bbl to 209.9 million bbl during the profiled week, adding to the prior week’s rise of 2.5 million bbl. Blending components rose by 2.7 million bbl to 199.5 million bbl, accounting for most of the increase, while conventional gasoline gained1.8 million bbl to 14.9 million bbl.

Refinery utilization stood at 94.1% of capacity, up by 1.8% from the prior week. Crude runs averaged 16.9 million bpd, up 500,000 bpd week-on-week.

Crude exports averaged 3.598 million bpd, down by 560,000 bpd from the previous week, while crude imports rose by 1.046 million bpd to 2.838 million bpd.

Total products supplied over the last four weeks averaged 20.19 million bpd, up 221,000 bpd from the same period a year earlier. Gasoline demand averaged 8.34 million bpd last week, down 4.7% year-on-year, while distillate demand averaged 3.43 million bpd, up 0.9% year-on-year.