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(Reuters) – U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles fell last week as demand remained elevated, while distillate inventories were up, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 7.9 million barrels to 445 million barrels in the week ended May 15, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.9 million-barrel draw.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 1.6 million barrels in the week, the EIA said, while crude oil exports from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 9.9 million barrels, the most on record last week.
“It is another large weekly drop in U.S. oil inventories, this time driven by U.S. crude oil, which saw a massive drop of nearly 18 million barrels for commercial and strategic inventories,” said Giovanni Staunovo, UBS analyst. Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 3,000 barrels per day, EIA said, and exports climbed by 112,000 bpd to 5.6 million bpd. U.S. crude exports have been robust as demand from other countries rises to fill supply gaps caused by the war with Iran.
Global Brent crude futures were trading at $107.34 a barrel, down $3.94, at 10:51 a.m. ET (1451 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were trading down $3.34 a barrel at $100.81.
Refinery crude runs fell by 80,000 bpd in the week, the EIA said, while refinery utilization rates fell by 0.1 percentage points to 91.6%.
Gasoline consumption remained relatively strong, analysts said, bucking concerns about demand destruction as prices at the pump have hovered at their highest level in four years. They warned that continued drawdowns in inventories could spell trouble as the U.S. heads into summer driving season, a period of time when gasoline demand rises.
U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 1.5 million barrels in the week to 214.2 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 2.1 million-barrel draw.
Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, rose by 558,000 bpd to 20.45 million bpd. Gasoline consumption was up slightly week-over-week at 8.77 million bpd.
“Gasoline demand is up a little which is an accomplishment considering we are above $4.50 a gallon at the pump,” said Bob Yawger, director of energy futures at Mizuho.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 372,000 barrels in the week to 102.9 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.1 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver and Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
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