U.S. Crude, Gasoline Stocks Rise as Refiners Ramp Up Slowly- EIA

Refinery crude runs (USOICR=ECI) rose by only 62,000 barrels per day in the last week, the EIA said, and refinery utilization rates (USOIRU=ECI) fell by 0.2 percentage point in the week. On occasion, crude inputs rise despite utilization falling as refiners cut back on processing other feeds.

Despite lower utilization, U.S. gasoline stocks (USOILG=ECI) rose by 0.1 million barrels in the week to 223.5 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.8 million-barrel drop.

“Refiners are running as close to cold here as they can while staying alive,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.​

As a result, refiners built more crude oil in the week. Crude inventories (USOILC=ECI) rose by 774,000 barrels in the last week to 421.9 million barrels in the week ending Oct. 27, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.3 million-barrel rise.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub (USOICC=ECI) also rose by 272,000 barrels in the last week, EIA said.

Oil prices extended gains immediately after the data. Both the international benchmark Brent and U.S. crude futures gained over 2% by 10:43 a.m. EDT (1443 GMT) to $82.89 a barrel and $86.84 a barrel, respectively.

Distillate stockpiles (USOILD=ECI), which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 0.8 million barrel in the week to 111.3 million barrels, as demand for heating oil picked up seasonally.

Net U.S. crude imports (USOICI=ECI) rose last week by 348,000 barrels per day, EIA said.