U.S. crude oil inventories declined for the third consecutive week, while gasoline and distillate inventories rose; U.S. crude imports from Venezuela hit a near 10-year high.

According to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday, U.S. crude oil inventories fell for the third week in a row, while gasoline and distillate inventories increased. The EIA reported that, for the week ending September 11, commercial crude oil inventories—excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR)—declined by 640,000 barrels to 423.4 million barrels, remaining 1% above the five-year average for this time of year. This decline was smaller than the market expectation of a 1.4-million-barrel draw. SPR inventories decreased by 403,000 barrels to 285 million barrels. Crude oil inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma—the delivery hub for NYMEX—fell by 342,000 barrels to 21.5 million barrels. Gasoline inventories rose by 794,000 barrels to 207.7 million barrels—5% below the five-year average—and gasoline demand increased by 247,000 barrels per day to 8.8 million barrels per day. Markets had expected gasoline inventories to decline by 800,000 barrels. Distillate fuel inventories increased by 1.6 million barrels to 107.9 million barrels—13% below the five-year average.

U.S. commercial crude oil inventories posted a larger-than-expected draw; distillate inventories also declined, while gasoline inventories rose unexpectedly.

U.S. crude oil inventories plunged last week, primarily due to a sharp drop in Gulf of Mexico production caused by hurricanes. This unexpectedly large inventory draw prompted markets to reassess short-term supply outlooks. According to data released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Thursday, for the week ending October 9, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories fell by 8.6 million barrels to 415.6 million barrels—far exceeding market expectations. Prior to the report, a Reuters survey of analysts had forecast only a modest draw of 288,000 barrels. On Wednesday after the U.S. stock market closed, the American Petroleum Institute (API) reported that U.S. API crude oil inventories had plunged by 11.123 million barrels the prior week. The sharp crude inventory draw stemmed mainly from production shutdowns and reduced imports triggered by hurricanes. Meanwhile, gasoline inventories rose unexpectedly, while distillate inventories tightened further. Following the data release, crude oil and diesel futures prices remained largely stable, whereas gasoline futures extended their losses due to the unexpected inventory build. On Wednesday, WTI crude rose 2.81%, with the gain occurring before the EIA report’s release. Hurricanes severely disrupted Gulf of Mexico production EIA data showed that U.S. crude oil production averaged 13.7 million barrels per day last week—down 300,000 barrels per day from the previous week. Hurricane Isaias forced offshore producers in the Gulf of Mexico to evacuate platforms, resulting in over 70% of offshore oil output being shut down as of last Friday. Most of this production reportedly resumed by this Wednesday. "This report is entirely about the hurricane," said Bob Yawger, Head of Energy Futures at Mizuho Securities. "Last week, the hurricane swept across the Gulf of Mexico—no one dared ship crude oil there; everyone avoided it like the plague." Import data likewise corroborated this assessment. U.S. crude oil imports fell by 791,000 barrels per day to 6 million barrels per day last week, while net imports declined by 596,000 barrels per day.

US crude and distillate inventories fall, gasoline stocks rise, EIA says

15 hours ago

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude and distillate inventories fell while gasoline stocks rose last week due to higher demand and exports. Oil futures gained following the report, with Brent crude trading at $115.66 per barrel.

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