U.S. crude stockpiles build on ongoing refinery maintenance
U.S. crude oil inventories rose last week as refinery maintenance continued, while gasoline stockpiles posted a surprise draw, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 4.1 MMbbl to 427.9 MMbbl in the week ended February 7, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations for a 3-MMbbl rise.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 872,000 bbl last week, the EIA said.
Crude prices gave up some earlier losses following the report. Global benchmark Brent futures LCOc1 were trading $1.28 lower at $75.74 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were down $1.30 at $72.03.
"Depressed refinery utilization rates are contributing to the crude inventory build, no doubt," said John Kilduff, a partner at Again Capital in New York. "Margins aren't great, so that's part of it," he added.
Refinery crude runs rose by 82,000 bpd while utilization rates rose by 0.5%in the week to 85% of total capacity, the EIA said.
Gasoline stocks fell by 3 MMbbl in the week to 248.1 MMbbl, according to the EIA, compared with analysts' expectations for a 1.4-MMbbl build.
On the East Coast, gasoline inventories climbed to their highest since July 2021, even as overall stockpiles fell.
Distillate inventories, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 135,000 bbl in the week to 118.6 MMbbl, versus expectations for a 1.5-MMbbl drop.
Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, declined by 1.45 MMbpd last week to 19.624 MMbpd, led by a sharp drop in distillates.
Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 184,000 bpd, and imports from Iraq were at their lowest in a year, EIA said.
Crude exports from the U.S. declined by 422,000 bpd to 3.91 MMbpd.
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