U.S. crude stockpiles increase, gasoline falls on July 4 driving demand
U.S. crude oil stockpiles rose unexpectedly last week, while gasoline drew down on the back of strong driving demand ahead of the July 4 weekend, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Crude inventories rose by 7.1 MMbbl to 426 MMbbl in the week ended July 4, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.1-MMbbl draw.
Included in the rise was a 1.8-MMbpd adjustment figure week-over-week. The adjustment figure looks at "unaccounted for crude oil," and serves as a balancing item for the EIA.
"Overall demand jumped back up, so the market is taking the build in crude supplies as kind of a one-off," said Phil Flynn, an analyst with Price Futures Group.
Gasoline stocks fell by 2.7 MMbbl in the week to 229.5 MMbbl, the EIA said, nearly double expectations for a 1.5-MMbbl draw.
Gasoline demand rose 6% to 9.2 MMbpd last week.
"If we look at gasoline demand numbers, they were back up to a respectable number," Flynn added.
Crude futures pared up some of their losses after the EIA data showing strong fuel demand.
Brent crude futures were down $0.19, or 0.3%, at $69.96 a barrel by 10:47 a.m. ET (1447 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate was down $0.26, or 0.4%, at $68.07 a barrel.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub for WTI rose by 464,000 bbl, the EIA said.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 825,000 bbl in the week to 102.8 MMbbl, versus expectations for a 300,000-bbl drop, data showed.
Refinery crude runs, meanwhile, fell by 99,000 bpd, and refinery utilization rates fell by 0.2% to 94.7% of total capacity.
Net U.S. crude imports fell by 1.36 MMbpd, the EIA said.
Comments