US: Crude oil stocks fall more than expected

NEW YORK (awp / dpa) – US crude oil reserves fell far short of expectations last week, signaling a recovery in demand for black gold in the world’s largest economy.

U.S. According to the Energy Information Agency’s (EIA) weekly report, crude inventory fell 7.4 million barrels (MB) to 466.7 MB as of June 11. Analysts forecast an average drop of 2.5 MB.

This is the fourth consecutive week of US crude stockpiles, the lowest since February.

Petrol stocks, on the other hand, are expected to decline (-1 MB), while on the other hand they are up 2 MB.

1 MB of filtered material (heating gas and fuel oil) fell, where analysts predict a small increase (+500,000 barrels).

“With continuous acceleration in refining speed and higher exports, crude reserves have experienced a more significant decline despite strong imports,” says Matt Smith of Clipper Data.

The United States imported an average of 6.75 million barrels per day (MPD) a day last week, up from 6.64 MPD in the previous week. They exported 3.88 mbd, up from 2.93 mbd the previous week.

U.S. refineries run 92.6% of their capacity, processing an average of 16.3 million barrels of crude a day. This is up from 91.3% for the week ended June 4.

This acceleration corresponds to the peak of activity commonly seen before the season for long car trips in July and August.

“Indirect demand for petroleum products rose again last week, which explains the fall in stocks of distilled goods,” Mr Smith said. “But petrol stocks have grown, which is driven by the refining momentum.”

U.S. crude production ranged from 11 MPT to 11.2 MPT.

On the consumer side, an average of 19.3 MPT was delivered to Americans last month. This represents an increase of 17.4% compared to the same period last year.

Stable before the release of the EIA report, the New York WTI barrel rose 0.2% to $ 72.26 at 3:00 pm GMT.

afp / rp