U.S. Crude Oil Stockpiles Fall More Than Expected
Crude oil stockpiles fell by 4.2 million barrels to 416.8 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 20
U.S. crude oil inventories fell by more than expected last week and product stocks were mixed as refineries raised their capacity use, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Commercial crude oil stockpiles excluding the Strategic Petroleum Reserve fell by 4.2 million barrels to 416.8 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 20 and were about 5% below the five-year average for the time of year, the EIA said.
Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had predicted crude stockpiles would fall by 1.1 million barrels.
Oil held in the SPR increased by 260,000 barrels to 393.3 million barrels. Oil stocks at Cushing, Okla., the Nymex delivery hub, were down by 320,000 barrels at 22.7 million barrels.
The EIA estimated U.S. crude oil production at 13.6 million barrels a day, off by 19,000 barrels a day from the previous week. Crude imports fell by 178,000 barrels a day to 6.5 million barrels a day and exports were down by 1.2 million barrels a day to 3.7 million barrels a day.
Refineries ran at 92.5% of capacity, up from 91.8% the previous week. Refinery runs were forecast to slip by 0.3 of a percentage point in the Journal survey.
Gasoline inventories increased by 1.6 million barrels to 223.7 million barrels, and were 3% below the five-year average, the EIA said. Gasoline demand was 9.0 million barrels a day compared with 8.9 million barrels a day the week before. Gasoline stocks were forecast to have fallen by 800,000 barrels.
Distillate fuel stocks dropped 1.7 million barrels to 116.5 million barrels, against expectations of a 200,000 barrel increase, and were 10% below the five-year average.