U.S. crude stocks excluding barrels in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve posted a surprise build and made their largest weekly gain since January 2023 last week as exports slumped, the Energy Information Administration said on Wednesday. Crude inventories rose by 17.4 million barrels to 424.4 million barrels in the week ended August 7, their highest level since June 5, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.4 million-barrel draw.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 1.6 million barrels. U.S. and Brent crude futures both extended losses after the report showed the large, surprise build in stocks.
Refinery crude runs rose by 26,000 barrels per day in the week, the EIA said. Refinery utilization rates fell by 0.3 percentage points to 96.2%.
U.S. gasoline stocks fell by 1 million barrels in the week to 208.7 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.2 million-barrel draw. U.S. gasoline futures extended their losses and were down 0.63% after the data showed a smaller-than-expected stock draw in gasoline stocks.
Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by 10,000 barrels in the week to 107.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 1.3 million-barrel drop, the EIA data showed. U.S. diesel futures reversed losses after the data and rose 0.54% after the data, despite the smaller-than-expected diesel stockdraw.
Net U.S. crude imports rose by 1.77 million bpd, EIA said.
(Reporting by Georgina McCartney in Houston and Liz Hampton in Denver; Ediitng by Chizu Nomiyama )