U.S. crude oil, gasoline and distillate inventories rose last week as refining activity and demand softened, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories rose by 1.8 million barrels to 416.5 million barrels in the week ended September 26, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1 million-barrel rise.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 271,000 barrels in the week, according to the EIA. Oil futures extended losses following the larger-than-expected build in stockpiles. Global benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at $65.52 a barrel, down 51 cents by 10:53 a.m. EDT (1453 GMT) while U.S. crude was down 50 cents at $61.87 a barrel. “Oil market participants didn’t like the report, which was disappointing due to large builds across key products. Implied oil demand was also weaker, explaining the builds for refined products,” said Giovanni Staunovo, an analyst with UBS. Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, fell by 627,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 20.17 million bpd. Gasoline consumption declined by 441,000 bpd to 8.52 million bpd. U.S. crude exports, meanwhile, fell by 793,000 bpd to 4.48 million bpd during the week, while net U.S. crude imports rose by 71,000 bpd, the EIA said. “Crude stocks rose following a drop in exports, which were not so hot and could signal some weak demand. We are also getting into seasonal refinery maintenance,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst with Price Futures Group.
Refinery crude runs fell by 308,000 bpd, while utilization rates fell by 1.6 percentage points to 91.4%.
Gasoline stocks rose by 4.1 million barrels in the week to 220.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations for a 675,000-barrel build.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 578,000 barrels in the week to 123.6 million barrels, versus forecasts for a 1.1 million-barrel drop.
(Editing by Marguerita Choy)