By Dan Molinski
U.S. crude-oil inventories rose more than expected last week, but gasoline and diesel fuel supplies declined, according to data released Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration.
Benchmark U.S. oil prices that were lower before the mixed-to-bearish report was released extended those declines afterward. The Nymex front-month crude contract for December delivery was recently 1.7% lower at $83.19 a barrel.
Crude-oil stockpiles rose by 4.3 million barrels to 430.8 million barrels, and remain about 6% below the five-year average, the EIA said. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted crude stockpiles would rise by 500,000 barrels from the prior week.
Oil stored at Cushing, the delivery point for U.S. stocks, fell by 3.9 million barrels from the previous week, to 27.3 million barrels, the EIA said in its weekly report.
U.S. crude-oil production was unchanged last week from the previous week, at 11.3 million barrels a day, according to EIA.
Gasoline stockpiles dropped by 2 million barrels to 215.7 million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations for inventories to decrease by 1.8 million barrels from the previous week.
Distillate stocks, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, slipped by 432,000 barrels to 125 million barrels, and are now about 8% below the five-year average, the EIA said. Analysts were forecasting a 2.1-million-barrel decline from the previous week.
The refining capacity utilization rate rose by 0.4 percentage points from the previous week to 85.1%, compared with analysts' forecasts for a 0.2 percentage point increase.
U.S. oil inventories for the week ended Oct. 22:
Crude Gasoline Distillates Refinery Use
EIA data: +4.3 -2.0 -0.4 +0.4
Forecast: +0.5 -1.8 -2.1 +0.2
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
10-27-21 1103ET
