Data from the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) showed that US crude oil stockpiles unexpectedly fell last week, while exports climbed to a 20-week high. According to the data, US commercial oil stocks stood at 492.43 million barrels in the week ended September 25, 1.98 million barrels lower than the previous week. The stocks are now 12.4% above the five-year average, the weakest surplus since late May.
Meanwhile, crude exports during the week increased by 490,000 bpd to 3.51 million bpd, the highest since early May. US refinery throughput climbed 300,000 bpd to 13.67 million bpd during the same period. As a result, utilization rates gained one percentage point to 75.8% of capacity. Refinery crude demand strengthened last week but remained over 15% lower than the five-year average.
Last week, US gasoline inventories rose by 680,000 barrels to 228.18 million barrels due to a downtrend in consumption. The build marked an end to seven consecutive weekly draws. The inventories were about 0.7% above the five-year average, compared to a 0.9% surplus in the prior week. The four-week moving average of the domestic gasoline consumption dropped 60,000 bpd to 8.48 million bpd, nearly 9% lower than a year earlier.
