Crude oil inventories in the United States posted a sharp draw last week, even as gasoline and distillate stockpiles recorded sizable builds, according to new data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, fell by 3.8 million barrels in the week ending January 2, bringing total stockpiles to 419.1 million barrels. Crude inventories remain roughly 3% below the five-year average for this time of year.
Refinery activity edged higher on the week, with crude oil inputs averaging 16.9 million barrels per day, up 62,000 bpd from the prior week. Refineries operated at 94.7% of operable capacity. Gasoline production slipped to an average of 9.0 million bpd, while distillate fuel production rose by 81,000 bpd to average 5.3 million bpd.
Crude oil imports jumped to an average of 6.3 million bpd, up 1.4 million bpd from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude imports have averaged about 6.0 million bpd, down 9.7% compared with the same period last year. Total motor gasoline imports averaged 549,000 bpd last week, while distillate fuel imports averaged 207,000 bpd.
Motor gasoline inventories climbed by 7.7 million barrels on the week and are now about 3% above the five-year average. Finished gasoline stocks declined, while inventories of blending components increased. Distillate fuel inventories rose by 5.6 million barrels but remain about 43% below the five-year average.
Propane and propylene inventories fell by 2.2 million barrels but are still about 29% above seasonal norms. Total commercial petroleum inventories increased by 8.1 million barrels last week.
The EIA data followed industry estimates released earlier in the week by the American Petroleum Institute, which had pointed to a smaller draw in U.S. crude inventories in the first count of the year, alongside builds in refined products. The latest government data showed a deeper crude draw than the API estimate, while confirming significant inventory builds in gasoline and distillates.
Over the past four weeks, total products supplied averaged 19.9 million bpd, down 1.9% from the same period last year. Motor gasoline product supplied edged up 0.5%, while distillate fuel and jet fuel product supplied fell by 4.3% and 1.9%, respectively.
At the time of writing at 11:49 a.m. Wednesday, West Texas Intermediate crude was trading at $56.29 per barrel, down $0.84, or 1.47%, on the session. Brent crude was lower by $0.54, or 0.89%, trading at $60.16 per barrel.
