Last week, US crude oil and fuel inventories went down following storms in the US Gulf of Mexico.
According to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA), in the week ended September 18, crude stockpiles dropped by 1.6 million barrels to 494.4 million barrels. Analysts predicted a wholesome 2.3 million barrel fall. In the Cushing delivery hub in Oklahoma, crude stocks climbed by 4,000 barrels.
Distillate stocks slumped by 3.4 million barrels to 175.9 million barrels, way beyond expectations for a 1 million-barrel rise. Distillate inventories have been staying close to record levels for some time as the overall demand has been weak. However, it is still down nearly 10% year-to-date, and it can be viewed as supportive of the market.
Gasoline inventories in the country tumbled by 4 million barrels to 27.5 million barrels, below the expectations of a 648,000 barrel fall.
Crude production edged down to 10.7 million bpd, partly due to the storms in row which shut offshore drilling sites. Net crude imports slipped by 267,000 bpd.
Refinery crude runs also went south by 118,000 bpd.
Analyst Phil Flynn of Price Futures Group commented that the market’s subdued reaction was in part because energy traders were likely to discount some of the drawdowns due to ongoing storm activity.
