U.S. Crude Oil Inventories Rise Unexpectedly

By Anthony Harrup

According to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. crude oil inventories experienced an unexpected increase last week. Meanwhile, stocks of gasoline and distillate fuels saw above-forecast builds, and refineries reduced their capacity use.

Crude Oil Stocks

• Commercial crude-oil stocks, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rose by 1.3 million barrels to 432.4 million barrels in the week ending Jan. 5. These stocks were approximately 2% below the five-year average for this time of year.
• Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted a decline in crude stockpiles by 600,000 barrels.
• Storage in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve rose by 606,000 barrels to 355 million barrels.
• Oil stored at Cushing, Okla., the Nymex delivery hub, fell by 506,000 barrels to 34.2 million barrels.
• Refineries reduced their capacity use to 92.9% from 93.5% the previous week. Expectations were for a 0.8 percentage point decrease.

Crude Futures

• Crude futures were higher on Wednesday due to increased Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea but fell from earlier highs following the EIA report.
• West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was up 0.4% at $72.55 a barrel.
• The international benchmark Brent for March was up 0.1% at $77.68 a barrel.

Gasoline and Distillate Stocks

• Gasoline stockpiles rose by 8 million barrels to 245 million barrels, exceeding expectations of a 2.1 million-barrel increase. Gasoline inventories are currently about 1% above their five-year average.
• Distillate stocks, mainly diesel fuel, rose by 6.5 million barrels to 132.4 million barrels. These stocks were approximately 4% below the five-year average.

Change in U.S. Oil Inventories for the Week Ended Dec. 15:

| | Crude | Gasoline | Distillates | Refinery Use | |-----------|-------|----------|-------------|--------------| | EIA data | 1.3 | 8.0 | 6.5 | -0.6 | | Forecast | -0.6 | 2.1 | 1.0 | -0.8 |

Note: Numbers in millions of barrels, with the exception of refinery use, which is in percentage points.