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(Reuters) – U.S. crude oil stockpiles fell last week as oil refiners ramped up production with the start of the summer driving season, while fuel inventories rose amid weaker demand, data from the Energy Information Administration showed on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 4.3 million barrels to 436.1 million barrels in the week ended May 30, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1 million-barrel draw.
Refinery crude runs rose by 670,000 barrels per day, the EIA said, while utilization rates jumped 3.2 percentage points to 93.4% of total capacity.
Gasoline stocks rose by 5.2 million barrels in the week to 228.3 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations for a 600,000-barrel build.
Product supplied of gasoline, a proxy for demand, fell by 1.2 million barrels per day to 8.3 million barrels, despite the start of the summer driving season after the Memorial Day holiday weekend, typically a time of increased demand.
The lower demand number raised some concerns.
“There was a strong increase in refinery demand for crude, resulting in a large crude draw,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst with UBS. “But post-Memorial Day, the strong supply increase with weaker implied demand resulted in large refined product inventory increases.”
Immediately following the data, U.S. crude prices pared gains and last traded near flat at $63.40 a barrel.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 4.2 million barrels in the week to 107.6 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1 million-barrel rise, the EIA data showed.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 576,000 barrels, the EIA said.
Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 389,000 bpd.
Reporting by Stephanie Kelly; additional reporting by Liz Hampton Editing by Marguerita Choy
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