- Prior was -7974K
- Gasoline +186K vs -471K expected
- Distillates -200K vs -488K expected
API data from late yesterday:
- Crude -9120K
- Gasoline -1190K
- Distillates +1320K
That API crude number was an eye-opener and it’s part of why WTI is bid today, up $1.59 to $89.81. Back-to-back draws of this size would suggest the market is tighter than the headlines imply, particularly with refinery runs seasonally strong and exports humming. We’re also just getting into the summer driving season.
I worry that $90 oil has lulled Trump into a sense of security around the global inventory draws that are continuing and that we will hit tank bottoms. 66.2 million SPR barrels have been drained since the start of the war in the US alone.
For background, the EIA weekly petroleum status report is published every Wednesday at 10:30 am ET by the US Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the Department of Energy. It’s the most closely watched snapshot of US oil supply and demand.
The headline number is the weekly change in commercial crude oil inventories, which excludes the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Alongside it, the report shows changes in gasoline and distillate stockpiles, refinery utilization rates, domestic crude production, imports and exports, and implied demand via product supplied.
Inventory draws signal demand outpacing supply and are generally bullish for prices; builds suggest the opposite. Traders compare the figures against consensus expectations and against the private API survey released the prior evening, which serves as an imperfect preview.
Cushing, Oklahoma stocks also get attention since that hub is the delivery point for WTI futures.
This article was written by Adam Button at investinglive.com.
