By Georgina McCartney and Arathy Somasekhar
HOUSTON- US crude stocks fell by more than expected last week as refiners ramped up operations, offsetting a rise in crude imports, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday.
Crude inventories fell by 5.1 million barrels to 423.4 million barrels in the week ended Nov. 29, the EIA said, compared with analysts’ expectations in a Reuters poll for a 671,000-barrel draw.
Crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma, delivery hub rose by 50,000 barrels.
“We’ve seen the return of refineries from seasonal maintenance, leading to a drop in crude oil inventories and a commiserate rise in gasoline and diesel stocks,” said Andrew Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates.
Brent and US crude futures rose after the data showed the larger-than-expected draw in crude stocks.
US crude oil production hit a record high last week, at 13.513 million bpd, the data showed.
Refinery crude runs rose by 615,000 barrels per day (bpd) last week, to their highest level since July 12.
Refinery utilization rates rose by 2.8 percentage points to 93.3 percent.
“A pop in refining activity with runs climbing to a high not seen since the summer has resulted in a see-saw of crude inventories drawing and products building,” said Kpler lead Americas oil analyst, Matt Smith.
“Stronger imports were unable to derail this week’s crude draw as exports came in firm, while steady implied demand for the products week-on-week has been unable to deter builds amid higher refining activity,” he added.
Net US crude imports rose by 1.64 million bpd, the EIA said, while crude exports fell by 428,000 bpd to 4.24 million bpd.
Imports of crude from Iraq rose to their highest since June 2023, at 397,000 bpd.
Meanwhile, US gasoline stocks rose by 2.4 million barrels to 214.6 million barrels, compared with analysts’ expectations for a 600,000-barrel build.
US gasoline futures edged lower after the data.
Gasoline supplied, a proxy for demand, rose by 231,000 bpd in the week to 8.74 million bpd, according to the data.
And the four-week average for total product demand was about 4 percent above last year’s levels, at 20.45 million bpd.
Distillate stockpiles which include diesel and heating oil, rose by 3.4 million barrels 118.1 million barrels, versus expectations for a 900,000-barrel rise, the EIA data showed. – Reuters
