U.S. crude stocks fell sharply last week as refiners continued to boost activity to fill supply gaps caused by the Iran war, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 7.2 million barrels to 426.5 million barrels in the week ended June 5, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4 million-barrel draw.
U.S. crude inventories, including those from strategic reserves, have fallen by 79 million barrels since the Iran war began on February 28. The U.S. is the world’s largest crude producer and has stepped in to fill supply gaps caused by the conflict and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key trade chokepoint. Inventories in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve are now at their lowest level since August 2023.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub fell by 801,000 barrels in the week, the EIA said.
Oil prices rose following the larger-than-expected decline in stocks. Global Brent crude futures were trading at $93.11 a barrel, up $1.66 at 10:57 a.m. ET (1457 GMT), while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were up $2.08 to $90.28 a barrel at that time
Refinery crude runs rose by 81,000 barrels per day in the week, the EIA said, while utilization rates rose by 0.6 percentage points to 95.3%.
“We saw a significant drop in exports, that refinery run rate is pressing on the crude inventories here, it does not get much higher than that, you do not see that often,” said John Kilduff, partner at Again Capital
Total product supplied, a proxy for demand, rose by 267,000 bpd to 20.6 million bpd. Gasoline consumption, which typically peaks during the summer months, was up 137,000 bpd to 8.73 million bpd.
“Gasoline demand was tepid for this time of year, we can see consumer reaction to high prices,” Kilduff said.
U.S. gasoline stocks rose by 0.2 million barrels in the week to 215.1 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.5 million-barrel draw.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 0.2 million barrels in the week to 102.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 0.5 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed.
Net U.S. crude imports rose last week by 525,000 barrels per day, EIA said, whie U.S. exports declined by 1.03 million bpd to 4.84 million bpd.
(Reporting by Liz Hampton in Denver and Georgina McCartney in Houston; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)