By Dan Molinski
U.S. crude-oil inventories declined more than expected last week even as refinery activity slowed down, according to data released Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration.
Benchmark U.S. oil prices that were higher before the mostly bullish report was released added to those gains afterward. The Nymex front-month crude contract for February delivery was recently up 1.5% at $82.42 a barrel.
Crude-oil stockpiles declined by 4.6 million barrels to 413.3 million barrels, and remain about 8% below the five-year average, the EIA said. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted crude stockpiles would fall by a smaller 2.1 million barrels from the prior week.
Oil stored at Cushing, the delivery point for U.S. stocks, fell by 2.5 million barrels from the previous week, to 34.8 million barrels, the EIA said in its weekly report.
U.S. crude-oil production fell by 100,000 barrels a day from the previous week, to 11.7 million barrels a day, according to the EIA.
Gasoline stockpiles climbed by 8 million barrels to 240.8 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for inventories to increase by just 2.3 million barrels from the previous week.
Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, rose by 2.5 million barrels to 129.4 million barrels, and are now about 15% below the five-year average, the EIA said. Analysts were forecasting distillates inventories would rise by 1.2 million barrels from the previous week.
The refining capacity utilization rate slid by 1.4 percentage points from the previous week to 88.4%, compared with analysts' forecasts for a 0.1 percentage point decrease.
U.S. oil inventories for the week ended Jan. 7:
Crude Gasoline Distillates Refinery Use
EIA data: -4.6 +8.0 +2.5 -1.4
Forecast: -2.1 +2.3 +1.2 -0.1
Note: Numbers in millions of barrels, with the exception of refinery use, which is in percentage points.
Write to Dan Molinski at dan.molinski@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-12-22 1103ET
