EIA: U.S. crude and fuel inventories climb, refining activity picks up
U.S. crude and fuel inventories rose last week as refining activity picked up, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 574,000 bbl to 427.5 MMbbl in the week ended November 28, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a poll for an 821,000-bbl draw.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 457,000 bbl in the week, the EIA said.
Oil futures and gasoline prices pared earlier gains following the release of data, which was published late around 11:09 a.m. ET, due to technical issues, the EIA said. U.S. ultra-low-sulfur diesel futures extended losses after the report was published.
Refinery crude runs rose by 433,000 bpd in the week, the EIA said, while refinery utilization rates increased by 1.8% in the week to 94.1%.
“We definitely saw refiners respond to stronger margins, increasing their runs,” said Phil Flynn, senior analyst at Price Futures Group.
U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 4.52 MMbbl in the week to 214.42 MMbbl, the EIA said, compared with analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5-MMbbl build.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 2.1 MMbbl in the week to 114.3 MMbbl, versus expectations for a 707,000-bbl rise, the EIA data showed.
Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, fell by 51,000 bpd to 20.189 MMbpd.
"Across-the-board inventory builds will pressure price and refining margins. The pressure is likely to continue with refining utilization increasing to over 94% at a time when seasonal gasoline demand is declining," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston.
Net U.S. crude imports fell 470,000 bpd to 2.37 MMbpd.
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