EIA: US Oil Stocks Draw Across the Board as Gasoline Demand Rebounds

(Reuters) — U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories fell more than expected last week, as demand for the motor fuel picked up ahead of the peak summer driving season, Energy Information Administration data showed on Wednesday.

Crude inventories fell by 5.1 million barrels in the week to April 21 to 460.9 million barrels, far exceeding analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 1.5-million-barrel drop.

Gasoline stocks fell by 2.4 million barrels to 221.1 million barrels, the EIA said, compared with expectations for a 900,000-barrel drop.

Product supplied of gasoline - a proxy for demand - rose nearly 1 million barrels per day last week to 9.5 million bpd, its highest since December 2021.

"The EIA inventories were constructive as we had draws across the board between crude, gasoline and distillate fuel," said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates in Houston. "And most impressively was a significant rebound in gasoline demand compared to the last couple of weeks."

Distillate stockpiles, which include diesel and heating oil, fell by almost 600,000 barrels in the week to 111.5 million barrels, less than forecasts for a 800,000-barrel draw, the EIA data showed.

Refinery utilization rates rose by 0.3 percentage point to 91.3% of total capacity in the week, while crude runs fell by 11,000 bpd.

Crude oil futures pared losses after the data but remained lower. Brent and U.S. crude futures each fell over 1% to $79.46 a barrel and $76.10 a barrel, respectively.

Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 319,000 barrels last week, the EIA said.

Net U.S. crude imports fell last week by 166,000 bpd, the EIA said.

 

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