US crude inventories increase by 5.5 million barrels, exceeding analysts’ expectations

Crude oil inventories in the US rose by 5.5 million barrels in the week that ended Friday, comfortably beating the expectations of analysts, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Analysts had expected inventories in the US to rise by just 900,000 barrels last week. 

US crude oil inventories are just about 4% below the five-year average for this time of the year, the agency said in a report. Total inventories in the US were at 426 million barrels as of Friday last week.

Refineries operated at 89.5% of their operable capacity last week. 

Gasoline stocks rise, distillate falls

Inventories of gasoline rose 900,000 barrels last week to 213.6 million barrels. 

Distillate stockpiles in the US, however, fell by 1.1 million barrels to 113.8 million barrels, EIA said in the report. 

Propane and propylene stocks also fell by 1.4 million barrels last week to 101.8 million barrels, while residual fuel oil inventories rose 800,000 barrels to 25.2 million barrels. 

Meanwhile, crude oil production in the US averaged 13.5 million barrels per day in the week ended Friday, unchanged from the previous week. 

US oil imports increase, while exports fall slightly

Crude oil imports by the US last week averaged 6.43 million barrels per day, up 902,000 barrels per day from the preceding week, EIA said. 

The four-week average for imports by the US was at 6.21 million barrels a day, up 1.3% from the corresponding period last year.

As for crude oil exports, shipments from the US fell by just 11,000 barrels a day last week to average 4.11 million barrels per day, according to the report. 

In the last four weeks, US crude oil exports averaged 3.98 million barrels per day, down 12.4% from the corresponding period a year ago.

US crude oil imports from Canada increased by the most last week. Imports averaged 3.72 million barrels per day from Canada, up 182,000 barrels per day from the preceding week. 

Imports from Iraq also rose by 167,000 barrels per day last week to 237,000 barrels per day, EIA’s data showed. Colombia exported 365,000 barrels of crude oil to the US last week, 143,000 barrels a day higher than the previous week. 

Meanwhile, imports fell by the most from Saudi Arabia by 163,000 barrels per day to just 150,000 barrels per day last week. 

Crude oil stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, fell by 300,000 barrels last week to 24.7 million barrels. Cushing is an important hub as it is the delivery point for West Texas Intermediate crude oil. 

The US’ strategic petroleum reserve rose by 800,000 barrels last week to 384.6 million barrels. 

At the time of writing, the price of WTI was at $71.97 per barrel, while Brent crude was around $76 a barrel. 

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