By Anthony Harrup
U.S. crude oil inventories decreased last week as production held steady and imports fell, according to data released Wednesday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Commercial crude oil stocks excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 515,000 barrels to 425.5 million barrels in the week ended Oct. 25 and were about 4% 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 rise by 1 million barrels.
Oil held in the SPR rose by 1.2 million barrels to 385.8 million barrels. Oil stored at Cushing, Okla., the Nymex delivery hub, was up by 681,000 barrels at 25.4 million barrels. Refinery capacity use declined by 0.4 of a percentage point to 89.1%. Refinery runs were forecast to remain unchanged in the Journal survey.
U.S. crude oil production held at a record 13.5 million barrels a day for a third consecutive week. Crude imports fell by 456,000 barrels a day to 6 million barrels a day, and exports were up by 149,000 barrels a day at 4.3 million barrels a day.
Gasoline inventories fell by 2.7 million barrels to 210.9 million barrels, and were 3% below five-year average, the EIA said. Distillate fuel stocks fell by 977,000 barrels to 112.9 million barrels, or 9% below the five-year average. Gasoline stocks were forecast to be unchanged, while distillate inventories were expected to have decreased by 1.3 million barrels.
Gasoline demand rose by 321,000 barrels a day to 9.2 million barrels a day, while distillate demand fell by 250,000 barrels a day to 3.9 million barrels a day.
Change in U.S. oil inventories for the week ended Oct. 25:
Crude Gasoline Distillates Refinery Use
EIA data: -0.5 -2.7 -1.0 -0.4
Forecast: 1.0 unch -1.3 unch
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
10-30-24 1109ET
