S&P GSCI PETROLEUM INDEX By Anthony Harrup
U.S. crude oil inventories fell more than expected last week and product stocks saw a buildup as refineries ramped up their capacity use, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 5.1 million barrels to 423.4 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 29 and were about 5% below the five-year average for the time of year, the EIA said.
Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted crude stockpiles would fall by 1.2 million barrels.
Oil stored in the SPR rose by 1.4 million barrels to 391.8 million barrels. Oil stocks at Cushing, Okla., the Nymex delivery hub, were up by 50,000 barrels at 24.2 million barrels.
The EIA estimated U.S. crude oil production at 13.5 million barrels a day, up by 20,000 barrels a day from the previous week. Crude imports rose by 1.2 million barrels a day to 7.3 million barrels a day, and exports fell by 428,000 barrels a day to 4.2 million barrels a day.
Refinery capacity use jumped by 2.8 percentage points to 93.3%, against expectations of a 0.4 percentage point increase.
Gasoline inventories increased by 2.4 million barrels to 214.6 million barrels, and were 4% below the five-year average, the EIA said. Gasoline demand was 8.7 million barrels a day, up by 231,000 barrels a day. Gasoline stocks were forecast to have increased by 200,000 barrels in the Journal survey.
Distillate fuel stocks rose by 3.4 million barrels to 118.1 million barrels versus expectations of a 100,000 barrel decline, and were 5% below the five-year average.
Change in U.S. oil inventories for the week ended Nov. 29:
Crude Gasoline Distillates Refinery Use
EIA data: -5.1 2.4 3.4 2.8
Forecast: -1.2 0.2 -0.1 0.4
Note: Numbers in millions of barrels, with the exception of refinery use, which is in percentage points.
Write to Anthony Harrup at anthony.harrup@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
12-04-24 1115ET
